feiplt. 





Class 
Book 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



HISTORICAL SKETCH 



OP 



Franklin County, Pennsylvania. 



PREPARED FOR 



THE CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, 



HELD AT 



Ghambersburg, Pa., July 4, 1876. 
By I. II. M'CAIILEY. 



'Incompleteness pervades all things human." — Dryden. 



SECOND EDITION— ENLARGED. 



HARIIISBURG, PA.: 

PATRIOT PUBLISHING COMPANY. 

18t8. 






Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1878, by 

I. H. M'CAULEY, 

In the OflBce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 



Hl^ 



PREFATORY. 

The undersigned, in the following "Sketch," has not at- 
tempted to give a complete History of our county. He has 
sought, chiefly, to bring to notice those matters which have 
escaped the attention of former writers. In doing this, his 
labors have been greatly augmented by the loss of the Public 
Records of the county, and the destruction of private papers, 
in the great fire of July 30th, 1864. He trusts, however, that 
he has brought together many things connected with the Past, 
that cannot fail to interest the general reader ; and in the 7c] 
Lists of C jngressional, Judicial and other Public Oflicers of 
, 3t times, he believes the people will find a Record both 

iful and interesting. 

The undersigned hereby returns his sincere thanks to Hon. 

hn B. Linn, Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth ; 
xiiomas M'Camant, Esq., his Chief Clerk,^ and B. F. Chand- 
ler, Esq., of the same office ; 0. H. Miller, Esq., State Libra- 
rian, and J. R. Orwig, Esq., his assistant; B. M. Nead, Esq., 
of the Auditor General's Office ; Dr. Wm. H. Egle, of Harris- 
burg ; Robert M. Agnew, Esq., of Lancaster ; Hon. Edward 
M'Pherson, of Gettysburg; Dr. C. T. Maclay, Dr. Wm. C. 
Lane and Dr. Wm. H. Boyle, and the various gentlemen of 
the local committees of our county, and others of our citizens, 
for the valuable aid given by them in furnishing information 
and materials needed in the prosecution of his labors. 

I. H. M'CAULEY, 

November, 1876. Chambersburg, Pa. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH. 



I. 

BEFORE THE COUNTY'S FORMATION. 

The discover}' of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492, 
was of the greatest value to the rulers of Europe, in that it 
furnished to them a means of getting rid, for the time at least, 
of many of the restless, unruly, and dangerous spirits frequent- 
ing their Courts, by sending them off on voyages of discovery 
to the new world. Such enterprises always possessed attrac- 
tions of the most alluring character to such persons, as they 
promised ricli rewards in plunder and untold increase of honor. 

The mode of acquiring title to the unknoAvn lands of the 
West, then in vogue, had in it more of form than of fact — more 
of might than of right. It consisted in authorizing some bold 
navigator, or renowned warrior, to seize upon and claim for 
the sovereign under whose authority he was acting, any and 
all imsettled countries he might find, and the mode of opera- 
tion, as is well known, was to land upon the coast, or in some 
bay or river, plant a cross emblazoned with the insignia of his 
nationality, unfurl his flag, and claim all the regions around 
for his own monarch, to the exclusion of all other claimants. 
In this consisted the vaunted "Right of Prior Discover}'" — a 
kind of kingly "squatter sovereignt}'" — a term much known 
to and quarreled over by the people of these free States in 
years not long since passed away. 

It seems as if the discovery of America was made in ad- 
vance of the necessities of the world, for near two centuries 
passed away before the vast territories thus opened up to 
settlement and cultivation became available for any real good 
to the mass of mankind. During tliese long years the New 
World witnessed many a scene of rapine and bloodshed, com- 
mitted by the followers of those knights of the sword and 
pistol, the musquetoon and the cannon, by whom the discoveries 
were made. The French, the Spanish, the Germans, and the 
English contended for the supremacy all along the coast from 



6 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FHANKLIN COUNTY. 

Labrador to the Gulf of Mexico, and their monarchs lavishly 
granted awa}' princely domains to favorite courtiers, or to 
troublesome subjects, sometimes for friendship, and at other 
times for monc}^, of which "latter they were always in great 
need. 

GRANT TO WILLIAM PENN, 

Acting upon both these principles, Charles II. of England 
on the 4th day of March, 1681, primarily for a debt of £16,- 
000 (or about $80,000 of our money) owing by his father, 
Charles I., to Admiral Sir William Penn, deceased, the father 
of William Penn, granted to the latter a district of country 
Ij'ing west of the Delaware river, and corresponding very 
nearly to the territory embraced in the present State of Penn- 
sj'lvania — or "Penn's Woods" — which name the King bestowed 
upon it in honor of the father of the new proprietor, and 
against his protestations. Thus our whole Commonwealth, 
containing over twenty-eight millions of acres, (28,362,880) of 
the most beautiful and valuable land on the continent of 
America was l^artered away b}' King Charles for a sum not 
equal to the present price of half a dozen farms in our valley. 

The Duke of York, afterwards James II. of England, was 
then the owner of the territory now embraced in the State of 
Delaware, under a grant from his brother, King Charles II., 
made in 1664, and Penn, who wished to have free access to the 
sea from his new possessions, purchased it from him in the suc- 
ceeding year. Thus it came that for many years after the es- 
tablishment of Penn's government here, Delaware, or the three 
lower counties of "Xew Castle, Kent and Sussex," were in- 
cluded in and formed part of the territory of Pennsylvania. 

William Penn, at the time he received his grant from King 
Charles II., was about thirty-seven years of age. He was a 
man of elegant presence, of large wealth, of fair education, 
and deeply imbued with the principles of his religious sect. 
He had been persecuted time and again because of his religious 
opinions ; had been imprisoned and fined, and had appealed, 
without success, to Parliament for toleration and protection 
for his co-religionists and for himself. 

Despairing of success at home, Penn was the mord anxious 
to secure a home for his persecuted brethren in the New 
AVorld, to which considerable numbers of them had already 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. i 

emigrated. Of the territory granted to him he was made 
absolute proprietor. Its people were secured in the right of 
self-government through representatives elected by their own 
votes ; religious equality was guaranteed to all ; no taxes 
were to be imposed save by their own legislatures, or by act 
of Parliament, and the power to annul their laws was only 
to be exercised b}' the King and his Council, when those laws 
were contrary to the laws of England. 

William Penn, and those colonists who came with him, 
reached New Castle, Delaware, on the 2Tth of October, 1682. 
In the presence of the Swedish, Dutch and English settlers 
whom he found there, he pledged himself to the people that 
the}' should ever have "liberty of conscience, and the full and 
free enjoyment of all their civil rights. "I propose," said he, 
■"to leave myself and my successors no power of doing mischief, 
that the will of no one man may hinder the good of the whole 
countr}'." 

penn's treaty. 

One of the first acts of the new proprietor was to call to- 
gether the chiefs of the neighboring tribes of Indians and 
enter into the celebrated treaty of peace and friendship with 
them, under the spreading elm at Shackamaxon — now Kensing- 
ton, in the cit}' of Philadelphia — a treaty that was confirmed 
by no oaths, and had for its basis simply a promise of peace 
and good will, fair dealing and fair treatment in all the re- 
lations of the future. It remained unbroken for fifty j'ears, 
and well would it have been for those who in after times suc- 
ceeded the upright and peace-loving Quakers, if they had 
always practiced towards the red men of the land the teach- 
ings of William Penn. Had the}' done so hundreds of valu- 
able lives would have been saved, and many years of war, 
rapine and bloodshed averted from the hardy, industrious and 
fearless settlers of the hills and valleys of our magnificent 
State. 

FIRST COUNTIES. 

The first counties erected in the State were Philadelphia, 
Bucks and Chester, in 1682. The latter extended westward 
to the western boundary of Penn's territorial claim, and north- 
ward I know not exactly how far. It, however, included the 



8 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

territory eBibraced in this county. On the 10th of May, 1729, 
the county of Lancaster Avas erected out of the western part 
of Chester count}', and this section of country was embraced 
within its limits, and there remained until the erection of 
Cumberland county, on the 2Tth of January, 1150, a period of 
over twenty years, 

SETTLEMENT OF THE CUMBERLAND VALLEY. 

There were no white settlers in this region that I have been 
able to hear of, in the year 1129. There may have been oc- 
casional visits made by hunters and scouts, but if so we have 
no records of them. The land la}' open in all its virgin beauty, 
its sole occupants being scattered bands of the Susquehanna 
and Shawanese tribes of Indians, who held a nominal pos- 
session of it under the protection of the Iroquois or Six 
Nations. 

Neither William Penn nor his sons, John, Thomas and Rich- 
ard, who succeeded to his rights as proprietors of the colony 
after his death in 1118, were ever willing tliat settlements 
should be made anywhere in their new possessions without the 
consent of the Indians, until their claims to the soil had been 
extinguished by purchase. Thus for nearly seventy years the 
best state of feeling existed between the settlers and the In- 
dians. The latter were pleased to have the former come amongst, 
them, pointed out voluntarily the most desirable locations for 
settlement, encouraged the making of improvements, and lived 
in peace with those who thus became their neighbors. 

The lands in the " Kittochtinnj-," or present Cumberland 
Yalley, were not purchased from the Indians until October, 
11 3 G, and were not, therefore, before that time open for sale 
But for several years prior to that period the agents of the 
proprietors, knowing the feelings of the Indians to be favor- 
able, had encouraged settlers to come hither, and had issued 
to them special licenses for the settlement and securing of 
such tracts of land beyond the Susquehanna or " Long- 
Crooked river," as might please their fancy. The lands em- 
braced in Amberson's Valley, Horse Valley, Path Valley and 
the present counties of Bedford, Fulton, Blair, Huntingdon, 
Mifflin, Juniata and Snyder were not purchased from the In- 
dians imtil October 2od, 1158. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. ^ 

History says that Benjamin Chambers was the first white 
man who made a settleanent in what is now known as the county 
of Franklin. He was a native of the county Antrim, Ireland, 
of Scotch descent, and between the years 1726 and 1730 emi- 
grated with his brothers James, Robert and Joseph, to the 
Province of Pennsylvania. At that time neither Lancaster,, 
York, Harrisburg or Carlisle had any existence. Harris' Ferry 
was the most prominent place in the interior of the State and 
to that point the Chambers brothers made their way. The 
beautiful Valley west of the '• Ferry," in Lancaster county, 
then called by some the " Kittochtinny," and b}^ others the 
" North" Valley — now the Cumberland Valley, which name 
was given to it after the formation of Cumberland county in 
1750 — attracted their attention, and these adventurous broth- 
ers were among the first to explore and settle in it. James 
made a settlement at the head of Green Spring, near Avhere 
Xewville now stands ; Robert at the head of Middle Spring, 
near where Shippeusburg now stands, and Benjamin and Joseph 
at the confluence of the Conococheague Creek and the Falling 
Spring, where the town of Chambersburg is situated. Having 
heard of the beaut}' of the location upon which our town now 
stands, Benjamin boldly pushed out into the wilderness, was 
kindly received by the Indians, and obtained permission to 
settle on the place of his choice and make it his own. This 
was about the year 1730. Joseph Chambers did not remain 
long here, but by an arrangement among the brothers returned 
to their property on the Susquehanna, at the mouth of Fish- 
ing Creek. Benjamin remained here and improved his location 
by the erection of a hewed log house, covered by lapped shin- 
gles fastened with nails. This improvement Avas afterwards, dur- 
ing his absence, burnt by an unprincipled hunter to get the 
nails used in the roof. 

On the 30th of March, 1734, Thomas Blunston, the agent of 
the proprietaries, gave Benjamin Chambers a license "to take 
and settle and improve four hundred acres of land at the Fall- 
ing Spring's mouth, and on both sides of the Conococheage 
Creek, for the convenience of a grist mill and plantation." Such 
licenses were given by the agents of the proprietaries in ad- 
vance of the extinguishment of the Indian title to the land, 
in order to fill up the Valley speedily as far south as possible 



10 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

■with tliose taking title from them, and thus crowd out and pre- 
vent the encroachments of settlers under Maryland rights, 
whose frontier posts, because of the disputes and long delay- 
in determining the boundary between the two colonies, w^ere 
creeping too far westward and too much northward to suit the 
views of the Pennsylvania authorities. 

Benjamin Chambers was the youngest of the four brothers, 
being, according to the statement of Hon. George Chambers, 
al)out twent\'-one years of age when he made his settlement 
on the Falling Spring. Being a millwright by trade he at 
once erected a saw mill near the mouth of the Spring for his 
own convenience and the accommodation of others disposed 
to settle in the surrounding wilderness. A few years after- 
wards he erected a flouring mill, an improvement which con- 
tributed much to the comfort of his neighbors — and was re- 
sorted to by many of the early settlers of the regions west of 
the mountains hundreds of miles away. 

Mr. Chambers did not obtain a patent for his land, at the 
junction of the Falling Spring and Conococheague Creek, until 
the 14th of March, 1*764, and it then contained five hundred 
and twenty-three acres and allowance. 

CUMBERLAND VALLEY IN 1730-60. 

We all know what this part of our valley now is, with its 
thousands of large, well-improved and well-tilled farms, and its 
hundreds of thousands of acres of elegant and valuable tim- 
bered lands. But if the reports which historians give us of its 
characteristics in 1730-35 be true, it must have then presented 
a very different appearance. Day, in his " Historical Collec- 
tions of Pennsj'lvania," says : "It is a tradition well supported, 
that a great part of the best lands in the Conococheague Tal- 
ley were, at the first settlement of the countr^^, what is now 
called in the Western States prairie. The land was without 
timber, covered with a rich, luxuriant grass, with some scat- 
tered trees, hazel bushes, wild plums and crab apples. It was 
then generally called the ' barrens.' The timber was to be 
found on or near the water courses, and on the slate soil. This 
accounts for the preference given by the early Scotch-Irish 
settlers to the slate lands before the limestone lands were sur- 
vej-ed or located. The slate lands had the attractions of wood, 
water courses and water meadows, and were free from rock at 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 11 

the surface. Before the introduction of clover, artificial grasses, 
and the improved S3'stem of agriculture, the hilly limestone 
land had its soil washed off, was disfigured with great gullies, 
and was sold as unprofitable for a trifle b}' the proprietors, who 
sought other lands in Western Penns^^lvania." 

Rupp, in his history of this county, says that the Reverend 
Michael Schlatter, a German Reformed minister, passed through 
this section of country in the year 1748, and in a letter dated 
May 9th, 1148, says: " On the Cono-go-gig we reached the 
house of an honest schioeitzer^ (supposed to be Jacob Snively, 
of Antrim township,) where we received kind entertainment 
with thankfulness. In this neighborhood there are very fine 
lands for cultivation and pasture, exceedingly fruitful without 
the application of manures. The Turkish corn (Indian maize) 
grows to the height of ten feet, and higher, and the grasses are 
remarkably fine. Hereabouts there still remain a good num- 
ber of Indians, the original dwellers of the soil. They arc 
hospitable and quiet, and well affected to the christians until 
the latter make them drunk with strong drink." 

When we look at the immense bodies of fine timber in the 
limestone regions of our county, and compare the productive- 
ness of our limestone lands with that of our slate lands, we 
cannot but think that 'Hradition'^ must have been in error in 
this report. But, whether correct or incorrect in this regard, 
the fact is undeniable that the country was very rapidly set- 
tled. The Scotch-Irish, that " pugnacious and impracticable 
race," as one of the early governors called them, flowed into the 
valley in vast numbers, and from 1730 to 1735, settled upon 
and improved large tracts of land at various points, from the 
Susquehanna to the southern line of the province, and by their 
presence and well-known attachment to Protestant modes of 
thought and government, forever put to rest all the fears of the 
proin-ietaries that the adherents of Catholic Maryland would 
ever take away from them their rights along the southern boun- 
daries of their possessions. . — ^" 

MASON AND DIXON'S LINE. 

And here it ma}^ not, perhaps, be out of place to devote a 
few minutes to the consideration of the facts connected with 
a question long since settled, but one which for eighty 3'ears 



12 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

occupied the attention of tlie autliorities of Pennsylvania and 
Maryland, which led to much bad feeling between the citizens 
of contiguous territories, to riots, and even to bloodshed ; 
which, after many unavailing attempts at settlement here in 
the New World, was adjourned to the presence of the King 
and his Lords in Council in the Old World, and which, long 
after the death of the original parties in interest, the Quaker 
Penn and the Cavalier Calvert, Lord Baltimore, was on this 
da}' (the 4th of July, IVCO) one hundred and sixteen years 
ago, amicably settled by their descendants. I refer to the 
boundary line between the colonies of Pennsylvania and Mary- 
land, a line for the past one hundred and ninety years known 
as "Mason and Dixou's Line," because it was run and marked 
upon the ground by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, two 
English astronomers, in 1767, under appointment from the 
Penns and Lord Baltimore. It forms the southern boundary 
of our county at 39° 43' 2G.3" of north latitude. For one 
hundred and thirty-two miles, or to the eastern base of Side- 
ling Hill mountain, at the end of every fifth mile a stone was 
planted, on which were engraven the arms of the proprietors 
on the sides facing their possessions, respectively, the inter- 
mediate miles being noted each by a stone having M on the 
one side and P on the other. I have no doubt many of you 
have seen these stones scattered along the southern boundar}' 
of our county. 

In order to understand properly this long vexed question, 
a brief recurrence to the history of the early settlements made 
on our Atlantic coast will be necessary. 

The knowledge of American geography, in those days, was 
very imperfect. It eml)raced little beyond the great head- 
lands, bays and rivers, and their true positions were not relial)ly 
known. But the monarchs of the Old World, who cared little 
about their undeveloped possessions in the New World, and 
who executed conveyances which covered the larger parts of 
a continent, assumed that they knew all about the localities 
of capes, baj's, islands and rivers and towns, and that the dis- 
tances they placed them apart were reliable. They were less 
precise in the location of points, and in the use of terms which 
Avere to define tlie boundaries of future States, than we are 
now in describing a town lot. The conse(i[uences were con. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 33 

dieting grants, leading to long and angry disputes, such as that 
which grew out of the conflicting claims arising out of the 
l30undary line between Maryland and Pennsylvania. 

It appears that a certain Captain John Smith, a hold navi- 
g-ator of the early part of the ITth century, had been emploj'ed 
by the companies to whom King James I. of England had 
granted the greater part of his American possessions, to ex- 
plore our coast and make a map of the true location of its 
■capes, bays, rivers, &c. Having finished his surveys, he re- 
turned to England in lfil4 and made out a map and an account 
of his explorations, which he presented to the King's son, 
.afterwards Charles I., who thereupon named the territory Neio 
England. 

In June, 1G32, King Charles I. granted to Cecilius Calvert 
(Lord Baltimore) all the land from thirty-eight degrees of 
north latitude "unto that part of Delaware Bay which lieth 
under the fortieth degree of nortli latitude, where New Eng- 
land terminates; and all that tract of land, /rom the afore- 
said hay of Delaivare, in a right line^ by the degree aforesaid ., 
to the true meridian of the first fountain of the river Potomacy 

At that time the whole territory within this grant, with the 
exception of a small settlement upon Kent's Island, in the 
Chesapeake! jbay, was a wilderness, uninhabited by a single 
white man. Captain John Smith's map was relied upon in 
fixing the boundaries of Maryland, and for years afterwards 
Lord Baltimore and his heirs paid no particular attention to 
where those boundaries really were. The grant to them was 
undoubtedly intended to carrj' Maryland up to New England^ 
and out to the hanks of the Delaware eastward^ and to the 
sources of the Potomac on the west. 

In 1638 the first Swedish colonists landed in the Delaware, 
and bought from the natives they found there rights to settle 
along the western shore of the bay and the river up as high 
as the Trenton Falls. They were unwittingly trespassing upon 
Lord Baltimore's territor}'. They multiplied rapidly in num- 
bers, built forts and towns, and were ver^' successful in culti- 
vating the soil and in obtaining and retaining the good will of 
the surrounding Indians. In 1055 the Dutch conquered the 
Swedes, and annexed their little State to the Dutch possessions 
at New York. 



14 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

In 1664 King Charles II. granted New York, Delaware, and 
the greater part of New Jersey to his brother, the Duke of 
York, afterwards James II. So far as this grant purported 
to give away the territory embraced in the present State of 
Delaware, it was undoubtedly a violation of the grant made 
b}^ King Charles I., in 1632, to Lord Baltimore. His succes- 
sor endeavored, without success, to have this grant annulled. 

In 1681 William Penn obtained his grant from Charles II. 
When he petitioned for it, in 1680, it was stated that it was 
desired to lie west of the Delaware river, and north of Mary- 
land. It is well known that Lord Baltimore's charter was the 
model used by Penn when he drafted his own charter for Penn- 
sylvania. He had thus express notice that Mar3dand reached 
to the Delaware bay, and included all the land abutting thereon 
''^ which lieth under the fo7'tieth degree of north latitude., where 
New England terminates.^'' A degree of latitude is not a mere 
line., but is a definite quantity, or belt, upon the earth's surface, 
of sixty-nine and a-half statute miles in width, and nothing 
short of the northern end of those sixty-nine and a-half miles 
will complete a degree of latitude. Therefore, the end of the 
northern boundary of Mar3dand undouljtedly was where the 
forty-first degree of north latitude commenced, for the New 
England grant was/V-07?i the fortieth degree. 

But where was the fortieth degree of north latitude believed 
to be in 1632, when Lord Baltimore's grant was made; and in 
1681, when William Penn received his grant? In making 
these grants, history says Captain Smith's map of 1614 was 
used, and was believed to be correct. By that map the for- 
tieth degree is laid down as crossing the Delaware a little below 
where New Castle stands, whilst its true location is now known 
to be a little over nineteen miles north of that point., and above 
the city of Philadelphia. 

This error was not discovered until in the year 1682. Its 
consequences vipon their respective claims and rights was at 
once seen and duly estimated by the parties most deeply in- 
terested — Penn, Lord Baltimore and the Duke of York. The 
former was most deeply disappointed — Lord Baltimore was 
elated — the Duke of York was rather indiflereut. He was near 
the throne, being the next heir to it, and feared not the result. 
Besides, he was in possession. It was ilwx^pjower ?iga.\n%i parch- 
ment as far as he was concerned. Penn concluded that might 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 15 

would eventually become right. He bought the Duke of York's 
title. A long contest of eighty j-ears followed. King Charles 
died in 1685, and the Duke of York succeeded him as James 
II. Lord Baltimore had nothing to expect in that quarter. 
In June, 1691, William III. annulled the charter of Maryland, 
and constituted the colon}' a royal province, of which he ap- 
pointed Sir Lionel Copley Governor. In 1715 Benedict Charles 
Calvert, the fourth Lord Baltimore, obtained from King George 
La restoration of his rights. In 1718 William Penn died, and 
the boundary -line contest went on year after year, each party 
claiming authority over, and granting lands in the disputed 
territory, until the year 1738, when the heirs of Penn and Lord 
Baltimore made an agreement whereby the line between the 
two provinces, known to survej'ors and in.history as the " Tem- 
porary Line," was established. That agreement provided that 
East of the Susquehanna river the line should be, until finally 
settled, j^yteen and one-quarter miles south of the most south- 
ern part of the city of Philadelphia, and West of the Susque- 
hanna to the western end of the line, at a -\^omt fourteen and 
three-quarter miles south of the most southern part of the 
said city ; and that the holders of lands on either side of the 
line should not be disturbed in their titles, whether granted 
by the Penns or Lord Baltimore. This agreement quieted dis- 
putes about all previous grants of land north and south of the 
disputed line, but did not determine exactly where the true 
line should be fixed for the future ; and over that the contest. 
went on until the 4th of July, 1760 — 116 j-ears ago, when a 
compromise, as I have already stated, was effected, which set- 
tled the true boundary and saved to Pennsylvania a strip of 
territory along her southern line, from the Delaware to the 
Laurel Hills, over nineteen miles in width, embracing hundreds 
of thousands of acres of the best and most beautiful and pro- 
ductive lands of the State. To that great compromise are we 
as Penusj'lvanians indebted that Philadelphia, Chester, Media^ 
West Chester, York, Gettysburg, Chambersburg, and a hun- 
dred other towns and villages are not Maryland towiis, and we 
citizens of the South, and perhaps rebels — hoping yet for the 
ultimate triumph of the "Lost Cause," and hoping also that 
Congress will soon pay us for our slaves emancipated by the 
late war for the Rigfht. 



16 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 

The precise dates at Avliich settlers began to locate in the 
neighborhood of Greencastle, Welsh Run, Mercersburg, Lou- 
don, Strasburg, Rocky Spring, Shippensburg, Middle Spring, 
Big Spring, Silvers' Spring, and other points towards the Sus- 
quehanna are not known, as in many cases the earlier records 
of even the churches of the valley are lost ; but they must 
have been commenced between the years 1730 and 1135, for 
within a few 3'ears afterwards Presbyterian congregations were 
organized at nearl}- all these places. Wherever the Scotch- 
Irishman went, one of his first efforts, after locating, was to 
secure the stated preaching of the gospel, (through the organi- 
zation of a congregation of his faith,) and by the j^ear 1740 
Presbj'terian churches were found dotted over the broad bosom 
of this vallej^, almost invariably in a grove of shad}' trees, and 
near a spring of pure, crystal water. 

"Their pews of unpainted pine, straight-backed and tall ; 
* • Their gal'ries mounted high, three sides around ; 
Their pulpits goblet-shaped, half up the wall, 
With sounding board above, with acorn crowned.'' 

FIRST TOWNSHIPS IN THE VALLEY. 

In 1735, the "North Valley," embracing all the territory 
from the Susquehanna to the Marjdand line, was divided, by 
order of the court of Lancaster county, into two townships, 
by a line crossing the valley at the "Great Spring," now New- 
ville — the eastern township to be called "Pennsborough" and 
the western one "Hopewell," and a Justice of the Peace and 
a Constable were appointed for each. 

On the 4th of November of the same jear an order was 
granted by the same Court for the la3ang out of a public road 
from Harris' Ferry towards the Potomac river, and strange to 
say it was "opposed by a considerable number of the inhabi- 
tants on the west side of the Susquehanna, in those parts." 
As the people had no public roads down the vallej' at that 
time, and such conveniences were certainly much needed in 
the new countr}-, I can conceive of no reason for this oppo- 
sition other than, perhaps, that the road did not pass near the 
settlements of those who desired a review of its route. 

Our wliole county, except the present townships of Warren, 
Metal and Fannett, and a considerable part of the present 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 17 

county of Cumberland, was at this date, 1735, in "Hopewell" 
township, Lancaster county. Of the number of the popula- 
tion then in either township I have not been able to obtain 
any data. The following is a statement of the taxes assessed 
for several years thereafter, viz : 

6d. 



1736, 


Hopew 


ell. 


£ 5 


2s. 


Pennsborough, 


£13 


17s 


1737, 


u 




2 


19 


a 




13 


9 


1738, 


u 




( 


7 9d. 


a 




20 


14 


1739, 


(( 




11 


8 1 


a 




23 


16 


1740, 


u 




4 


19 3 


a 




14 


18 



FORMATION OF ANTRIM TOWNSHIP. 

In 1741 Hopewell township was divided b}- the Courts of 
Lancaster county by a line "beginning at the 'North Hill' — or 
Xorth Mountain, at Benjamin Moore's House, thence to Widow 
Hewry's and Samuel Jameson's, and on a straight line to the 
*South Hill,' or South Mountain — the western division to be 
called '■Antrim^'' and the eastern 'Hopewell.' " Where this line 
ran I cannot say positively, but I believe that it was about 
where the division line now is between the counties of Cum- 
berland and Franklin. The new township thus embraced all 
of our jjresent county, except the territoiy in the townships of 
Fannett, Metal and Warren which never was within the town- 
ship of Antrim. 

EARLY TAXES. ^^ 

The following taxes were assessed in Antrim township, 
Lancaster count}', for the following years, viz : 

1741, ^ - £ 9 

1742, 8 

1743, 19 

1744, 22 

1745, 16 

1746, U 

1747, 11 

1748, 7 

1749, 21 

FORMATION OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY. 

On the 29th day of January, 1750, the county of Cumber- 
land was formed. It embraced all the lands in the State west- 
2 



3s. 


2d. 


18 


2 


10 


7 


4 


7 


14 


8 


13 


8 


1 


2 


19 


4 


18 


8 



18 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

ward of the Susquehanna and the South Mountain, and in- 
cluded all of Fulton and Bedford counties. There were then 
in the Cumberland Talley between eight hundred and one 
thousand taxables, and the whole population was between 
three and four thousand. The courts were first held at Ship- 
pensburg, but were removed to Carlisle in ItSl, after that 
town was laid out. All the settlements in the valley were of 
inconsiderable size — mere straggling villages — containing each 
but a few houses and a small number of people. 

According to "Riipp's History of the Sis Counties," the 

taxables and freemen in the various townships of Cumberland 

county, now embraced in our county, were then as follows, viz : 

In Lurgan, - - 1751, - - - 176 

" Antrim, - - " - - - 128 

" Peters, - - " - - - 162 

" Guilford, - - " - - - 31 

" Hamilton, - - 1752, - - - 42 



Total, 539 

TAXABLES NAMES, 1751-2. 

According to the same authority the names and locations of 
these taxables, and freemen, were as follows, viz : 

In Antrim township, which embraced the territory now in 
Antrim, Washington and Quincy townships : ^' 

William Allison, Widow Adams, Joshua Alexander, Thomas 
Brown, Jacob Batterly, William Brotherton, John Chambers, 
George Cassil, William Qlark, William Cross, Joshua Coal, 
Josh.'^Crunkleton, Jr., Peter Craul, John Crunkleton, William 
Dunbar, Thomas Davis, John Davies, Henry Dutch, David 
Duncan, William Erwin, Robert Erwin, James Finley, William 
Grimes, Nicholas Gulp, John Gyles, Lorance Galocher, Thomas 
Grogan, George Gordon, Abraham Gabriel, Paulus Harick, 
Robert Harkness, William Hall, Nath. Harkness, Christian 
Hicks, Robert Hamilton, Ac[am Hoops, James Jack, James 
Johnston, Peter Johnston, Henry Kefort, James Kerr, David 
Kennedy, Widow Leiper, Peter Leiper, Katli. Leatherman, 
Dietrich Lauw, James Lilon, Thomas Long, William M'Gaw, 
Samuel MTaran, John Mitchel, Wm. M'Almory, Wm. Mearns, 
Wm. M'Lean, George Martin, John Monk, John Moorhead, 
John M'Math, William M'Briar, David M'Briar, James M'Bride^ 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 19 

Josh. M'Faran, David M'Clellan, James M'Clanahan, Hugh 
M'Clellan, Patrick M'Intire, Arch. M'Clean, Samuel Mouagh, 
Wm. M'Clellan, John Moor, John M'Coon, John M'Dowell, 
Alex. Miller, James M'Kee, Patrick M'Clarin, Edward Nich- 
ols, Thomas Nisbit, Jacob Pisacker, Thomas Patterson, John 
Pritchet, Thomas Poa, Henry Pauling, John Potter, James 
Paile, William Patrick, James Pattro, John Rej-nolds, Wm. 
Rankin, Wm. Ramse}', James Ramsey, John Roass, Mathias 
Ringer, Jos. Roddy, John Roal, Samuel Smith, John Scott,, 
Robert Southerland, John Smith, James Scott, Daniel Scott, 
John Staret, Ilenjcy- Stall, Jacob Snider, Wm. Shanon, Jacob 
Snively, John Stoaner, Katharine Thomson, Anthony Thom- 
son, Moses Thomson, Joseph Walter, John Willocks, John 
Wallace. 

Freemen — E. Alexander, Alex. Cook, W. Campbel, Jacob 
Gabrial, Hugh Galocher, Adam Murray, Hugh M'Kee, Daniel 
M'Coy, Daniel M'Cowan, Wm. M'Gaughey, James M'Gowan^ 
Joseph Morgan, James Ross, John Snivel}-, Charles White,,. 
James Young — 128. 

In Guilford including what is now Chambersburg : 

John Anderson, Wm. Adams, Thomas Baird, George Cook, 
'^Benjamin Chambers, Frederick Croft, Peter Coaset, James 
Crawford, Edward Crawford, Mayant Dufl', John Fors^'th, 
Benjamin Gass, John Henderson, James Jack, Patrick Jack, 
James Lindsa}', John Lindsay, Charles M'Gill, Wm. M'Kinney, 
John Mushet, John Noble, William Newjant, John O'Cain, 
Solomon PattersoivRobert Patrick, Nathaniel Simpson, Henr}- 
Thomson. 

Freemen — Archibald Douglass, Henr}' Black, Alexander 
M'Alister, Robert Uart — 31. 

In Hamilton^ which then included the present townshij) of 
Hamilton and about one-half of the present township of St- 
Thomas : 

Joseph Armstrong, Matthew Arthur, Josh. Barnet, James 
Barnet, Thomas Barnet, Jr., James Boyd," Thomas Barnet, 
Andrew Brattan, John Blain, Wm. Boal, Robert Barnet, John 
Campbell, Adam Carson, James Denny, Robert Donelsou, 
John Dixon, Matthew Dixon, John Eaton, Josh. Eaton, James 
Eaton, Robert Elliot, Johnston Elliot, Wm. Eckery, John 
Galaway, James Hamilton, John Hindman, Alex. Hamilton, 



20 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Edward Johnston, Patrick Knox, William M'Cord, Samuel 
M'Camish, Samuel Moorhead, Thomas Patterson, Joshua Pep- 
l^er, George Reynolds, William Rankin, John Swan, Widow 
Swan, Edward Thorn, Aaron Watson. 

Freemen — Dennis Kcase, Josh. M'Camish — 42, 
In Lur^gan, which then included the present townships of 
Lurgan, Letterkenny, Southampton and Greene : 

Benjamin Allworth, James Allison, Thos. Alexander, An- 
drew IJaird, Jr., James Breckenridge, John Boyd, James JJoall, 
James Boyd, Laird Burns, Robert Boyd, Samuel Buckenstos, 
William Barr, William Baird, (turner,) William Baird, (at 
Rocky Spring,) John Burns, Francis Bi'ain, William Brecken- 
ridge, Alexander Culbertson, Archibald Campbell, Dennis 
■Cotter, Joseph Culbertson, John Cessna, James Calwell, John 
Crawford, John Cumins, James Culbertson, Nathaniel Cellar, 
Oliver Culbertson, Samuel Culbertson, Samuel Cochran, Steven 
€olwell, William Cox, William Cochran, William Chambers, 
David Carson, Wm. Devanner, Jacob Donelson, William Erwin, 
John Evans, John Erwin, Andrew Finley, John Einley, Senr., 
John Finley, Esq.,''John Finlej^, (sawyer,) James Finley, Ro- 
bert Finle}^', George Ginley, John Graham, Robert Gabie, 
Thomas Grier, William Greenlee, William Guthrie, John Grier, 
Arthur Graham, Isaac Grier, John Gaston, David Heron, 
Francis Heron, Gustavus Henderson, James Henderson, Joshua 
Henderson, James Henry, John Hawthorn, Christian Irwin, 
W^illiam Jack, Samuel Jordan, John Jones, Nathaniel Johnson, 
David Johnson, John Johnson, Thomas Jack, John Kirkpat- 
rick, John Kirkpatrick, Jr., John Kerr, John Kennedy, James 
Kirkpatrick, John Lowrie, John Lcckey, James Lawder, Robert 
Long, Samuel Laird, William Linn, William Linn, Jr., David 
Linn, Archibald Machan, Arthur Miller, Andrew Murphey, 
Alexander Mitchell, Alexander M'Nutt, Charles M'Glea, David 
M'Cright, George Mitchell, Gavin Mitchell, Humphrey Mont- 
gomery, Henry Machan, John Miller, Esq., James M'Camant, 
John M'Keany, John M'Call, James M'Call, John M'Crea, John 
M'Kee, John Mitchel, James Mitchel, John Mitchel, Jr., John 
M'Crea, John Machen, Joseph M'Kibben, John M'Naught, John 
M'Cappin, John Montgomery, John M'Combs, Machan 
M'Combs, Mat. M'Creary, Robert M'Connell, Robert Miller, 
Robert Machan, Thomas M'Comb, Thomas Miner, William 
M'Connell, William Mitchell, William M'Nutt, William M'Call, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 21 

Charles Murray, Joseph Mitchell, Andrew IS'eal, James Nor- 
rice, Thomas Neal, James Ortan, David Faxon, George Pum- 

roy, James Patterson, Mr. l^iley, (at Mr. Hoops',) John 

Ripple, Josiah Ramage, James Reed, Sr., James Reed, Jr., 
James Reed, Samuel Rippie, Wm. Reed, Robert Reed, (eord- 
wainer,) Charles Stewart, James Sharp, Robert Scott, Ranald 
Slack, William Turner, Alvard Terrence, Joseph Thomson. 
James Tait, Robert Urie, Thomas IJrie, Abm. Wier, David 
"Watson, Hugh Wier, John Weyley, John Weir, James Waid, 
John Wilson, Nathaniel Wilson, Oliver Wallace, Wm. Withrow 
Wm. Woods, Wm. Walker, Alexander Walker, William Young. 

Freemen — James Hawthorne, Morgan Linch, Geo. M'^Keauey, 
William Milrea, Charles Moor, George Ross, John Tait — 176. 

In Peters township, which then included the present town- 
ships of Peters and Montgomery, and that part of St Thomas 
township west of Campbell's run. 

Daniel Alexander,' Andrew Alexander, Wm. Armstrong, 
Hezekiah Alexander-, Adam Armstrong, Arthur Alexander,*^ 
John Baird, James Blair, Alex. Brown, Thomas Barr, Ann 
Black, (widow,) Thomas Boal, Samuel Brown, AVm. Barnett, 
Joshua Bradner, John Black, John Baird, James Black, Widow 
Brown, Robert Barnet, David Bowel, John Blair, George Brown, 
Wm. Clark, Robert Clugage, Wm. Campbell, Michael Carsell, 
Samuel Chapman, Thomas Calhoun, Michael Campbell, Robert 
Crawford, Pati-ick Clark, Wm. Campbell, Robert Culbertson, 
Charles Campbell, Thom as Clark, John Dickey, James Dickey, 
Widow Donelsou, Wm. Dunwood, John Docherty, Samuel 
Davis, David Davis, James Davis, Widow Davis, Philip Davis, 
Joseph Dunlop, Arthur Donelson, David Davis, Nath. Davis, 
Josh. Davis, Thomas Davis, James Erwin, Widow Farier, John 
Flanaghin, James Flanaghin, Moses Fisher, James Gal breath, 
John Gilmore, Widow Garison, Samuel Gilespie, James Gala- 
way, Josh. Harris, John Harris, Jeremiah Harris, Charles 
Harris, Widow Huston, James Holland, John Huston, John 
Hamilton, Joseph How, John Holyday, Wm. Holyday, Wm. 
Hanbey, David Huston, John Hill, James Holiday, Alex. 
Hotchison, Mesech James, Hugh Kerrell, Wm. Lowrie, Henry 
Larkan, Wm.'^Maxwell, James Mitchell, John Morlan, John 
Martin, James Mercer, John Mercer, Wm. Marshall, Wm. 
Moor, Widow M'Farland, Andrew Morison, John M'Dowell, 



^2 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FIIANKIJN COUNTY. 

Alex. M'Kee, Robert M'Clellan, Wm. M'Dowell, Jr., Wm. M'- 
Clellan, John M'Clellan, Andrew Moor, Wm M'Dowell, James 
M'Connell, Robert M'Coy, Wm. M'lllhatton, James M'Mahon, 
James Murphy, Wm. Morrison, James M'Clellan, Robert New- 
ell, Victor Neel}-, James Orr, Thomas Orbison, Thomas Owins, 
Nathan Orr, Matthew Patton, John Patton, Francis Patterson, 
David Rees, James Rankin, Alex. Robertson, Wm. Semple, 
James Sloan, Richard Stevens, Andrew Simpson, Wm. Shan- 
iion, Hugh Shannon, Widow Scott, Alex. Staret, Collin Spence, 
John Taylor, James Wright, Wm Wilson, John Wilson, John 
Winton, James Wilkey, James Wilson, Matthew Wallace, 
Moses White, John Wasson, Joseph Williams, John Woods, 
Joseph Wliite, Thomas Waddle. ,/ 

Freemen — Robert Anderson, David Alexander, Robert Bane- 
field, James Brown, James Blair, Gavin Cluggage, James Cars- 
well, James Coyle, William Gueen, Alex. Hutchison, Ed. 
Horkan, John Laird, Alex. McConnell, Samuel Templeton, 
Wm. Tayler, James Wilson, James Wallace, Andrew Willabee, 
Oliver Wallace, David Wallace— 162. 

These settlers were at their various "improvements" scat- 
tered all over the country, busily engaged, each for himself, 
in erecting his necessary buildings and bringing the soil under 
fence and cultivation. The Indians had removed beyond the 
western mountains, and only occasionally returned in small 
numbers to see their former possessions and trade off their 
peltries with its possessors. Peace and friendship had reigned 
for time bej'ond the memory of the oldest inhabitant of the 
land. 

FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS OF 11-1-4-56. 

But this desirable condition of things was fast hastening to 
a close. War had existed between England and France for 
six years, having been declared by both nations in 1*744. The 
settlers of this valley had not yet felt any of its disastrous 
consequences because of their inland location. It is true that 
in lt48 they had associated themselves together for the sup- 
port of their home and foreign governments, and had elected 
Benjamin Chambers, Esq., their Colonel, Robert Dunning, their 
Lieutenant C'oZo?jeZ, and William Maxwell, their Major. Loy- 
alty to King and country filled every bosom. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 23 

But their danger was not to come from the east, but from 
the far west. The cruel Indian, at the instigation, and often 
under the leadership of equally cruel and crafty Frenchmen, 
who had repudiated every common characteristic of their 
nationality, Avere to lay their homes in ashes and slaughter 
their helpless wives and innocent children, in the hope that 
the pathway of American empire westward might thereby be 
stayed. Vain hope ! Though their outrages comrhenced by 
isolated abductions and murders in 1752, they became more 
fearful and more horrible in n53 and 1154, and culminated in 
1755 by the disastrous defeat and slaughter of General Braddock 
and the flower of the English army — and though the hills and 
valleys of this fair land, from the Susquehanna to far down 
beyond the Potomac, were swept by fire and drenched with. 
blood — yet the hardy settlers rallied to the contest, and after 
sending their families to places of safet}', under the leadership 
of Col. Armstrong, Col. Potter, Captain Smith, Rev. John 
Steele, and other gallant spirits, gave back blow for blow. 
Hundreds of lives were lost, aud the greatest distress every- 
where prevailed. Says Gordon, in his history of Pennsylva- 
nia : "In the fall of 1755 the country west of the Susquehanna 
had 3,000 men in it fit to bear arms, and in August, 1756, ex- 
clusive of the provincial forces, there were not one hundred 
left. 

In the year 1753 there were yet quite a number of Indians in 
this valley scattered at different points between the Susque- 
hanna and the Potomac rivers. They consisted principally of 
small bands of the Delawai'es, Shawanese and Tuscarora tribes, 
and had been before that time peaceable and well disposed 
towards their white neighbors. In that year John O'Neill, an 
agent of Governor Hamilton, had a great talk with them in 
Path Yalley, but at what particular point history does not tell. 
When they began to be troublesome the settlers, under the com- 
mand of a Captain Joel and others, combined together to re- 
sist their invasions. At one time these companies would be at 
Port Augusta, then at Fort Franklin, theii at the Juniata, or 
Fort Loudon, or down in the Conococheague settlements. So 
rapid were the movements of these companies of the hardy 
pioneers, and so daring their exploits, that they struck terror 
into the minds of their saA'age enemies, and kept the frontiers 
safe from their ravages for some time. 



24 HISTORICAL SKETCH OP FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

EARLY FRONTIER FORTS. 

Tlie war raged for twelve years. During this period the 
following forts Avere built in this and the adjoining vallej'S. 
viz : 

Fort Louther, at Carlisle, - - - - - 1*153 

" Le Tort, " " 1753 

" Crogan, in Cumberland count}', - . . 1754 
" Morris, at Shippensburg, - - - - 1755 

" Steele at the"White Church," - - - 1755 
" London, near Loudon, - ... 1756 

" M'Dowell, near Bridgeport, - - - lt56 

" M'Cord, near Parnell's Knob, - - - 1756 

" Chambers, at Chambersburg, - - - 1756 

" Davis, near Maryland line, at Davis' Knob, 1756 

" Franklin, at Shippensburg, - - - 1756 

" Lyttleton, in Fulton count}', - - - 1756 

" Armstrong, north-east of Loudon, - - - 1764 
" Dickey, Cumberland county, - - - 1764 

" Ferguson, " " . . . . 1764 

" M'Callister, near Roxbury, - . - - 1764 
" M'Connell, south of Strasburg, - - - 1764 

besides a number of other private fortifications at various other 
points, of which veiy little is now known. 

A brief description of one of these forts (Louther, at Car- 
lisle) will give a fair idea of the manner in which they were 
nearly all constructed : 

Around the area to be embraced within the fort a ditch was 
dug to the depth of about four feet. In this oak logs, or logs 
of some other kind of timber not easily set on fire, or cut 
through, and about seventeen or eighteen feet long, pointed 
at the top, were placed in an upright position. Two sides of 
the logs were hewn flat, and the sides were brought close to- 
gether and fastened securely near the top, by horizontal pieces 
of timber spiked or pinned upon their inner sides, so as to 
make the whole stockade firm and staunch. The ditch having 
been filled up again, platforms were constructed all around 
the inner sides of the enclosure some four or five feet from 
the ground, and upon these the defenders stood, and fired 
through loop holes left near the top of the stockade upon those 
who were investing or attacking the fort. A few gates were 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OP FRANKLIN COUNTY. 2o 

left in the stockade for ingress and egress, and they were 
made as strong and secure, and as capable of defence as the 
means of those within would enable them to make them. 
Within these forts the people of tlie surrounding districts of 
country Avere often compelled to fly for protection from the 
tomahawks and scalping knives of the savages when they made 
their forays into the frontier settlements of this and the neigh- 
boring valleys. One of these forts in our county (M'Cord's, 
near Parnell's Knob) was captured by the Indians on or about 
the 4th of April, 1756 and burned, and all the inmates, twenty- 
seven in number, were either killed or carried into captivity. 

scoTcn-iiiisii. 

In 1 755 instructions were given by the proprietaries to their 
agents that they should take especial care to encourage the emi- 
gration of Irshmen to Cumberland county, and send all the Ger- 
man Emigrants, if possible to York county. The mingling of 
the two races in Lancaster county, they said, had been produc- 
tive of bad consequences by causing ill feeling and serious riotg, 
when they came together at elections. Nearly all the people 
in this Yalley then were Irish, and those known as Scotch- 
Irish, and hence, perhaps it was the part of wisdom in the 
proprietaries to desire to have those of one blood, and nation- 
ality and religious feeling together. They were also, almost 
all of them Presbyterians of the real "blue stocking" type. 

The term " Scotch-Irish" originated in this wise. In the 
time of James I. of England, who, as is well known, was a 
Scotch Presbyterian, the Irish Earls of Tyrone and Tyrcon- 
nell conspired against his government, fled from Ireland, were 
outlawed, and their estates consisting of about 500,000 acres 
of land were seized b}^ the crown. King James divided these 
lands into small tracts and gave them to persons from his own 
country (Scotland) becaus.'i they were Protestants, on the sole 
condition that the}' should cross over into Ireland within four 
years and locate upon them. A second insurrection soon after 
gave occasion for another large forfeiture, and nearly six coun- 
ties in the province of Ulster were confiscated, and taken posses- 
sion of by the officers of the government. The King was a zeal- 
ous sectarian, and his primary object was to root out the native 
Irish, who were all Catholics, hostile to his government, and 
almost constantly engaged in plotting against it, and to re- 



26 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

people the country with those whom he knew would be loyal. 
The distance from Scotland to the county Antrim, in Ire- 
land, was but twenty miles. The lands thus offered free of 
cost were among the best and most productive in the Emerald 
Isle, though blasted and made barren by the troubles of the 
times and tlie indolence of a degraded peasantry. Having the 
power of the government to encourage and protect them, the 
inducements offered to the industrious Scotch could not be re- 
sisted. Thousands went over. Many of them, though not 
Lords, were Lairds^ and all of them were men of enterprise 
and energy, and above the average in intelligence. They went 
to work to restore the land to fruitfulness and to show the su- 
periority of their habits and belief to those of the natives 
among whom they settled. They soon made the counties of 
Antrim^ Armagh, Caven, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Lon- 
donderry, Monaghan and Tyrone (names all familiar to Penn- 
sylvania ears) to blossom as the rose. 

These were the first Protestants introduced into Ireland. 
They at once secured the ascendancy in the counties in which 
they settled, and their descendants liave maintained that as- 
cendancy to the present day against the efforts of the Govern- 
ment Church on the one hand, and the Romanists on the other. 
They did not intermarry with the Irish who surrounded them. 
The Scotch were Saxon in blood and Presbyterian in religion, 
whilst the Irish were Celtic in blood and Roman Catholic in 
religion, and these were elements that would not readily coa- 
lesce. Henoe the races are as distinct in Ireland to-day, after 
a lapse of two hundred and fifty years, as when the Scotch 
first crossed over. The terni "Scotch-Irish" is purely Ameri- 
can. In Ireland it is not used, and here it was given to the 
Protestant emigrants from the north of Ireland simply be- 
cause they were the descendants of the Scots, who had in 
former times taken up their residence there. 

But in after times persecutions fell upon their descendantsj 
nnder Catholic governments, and during the century preced- 
ing the date of which I am speaking — or from 1664 to 1*764 — 
large numbers had emigrated from the north of Ireland and 
settled in New Jersey, Maryland and North Carolina ; and when 
William Penn founded his government here, and offered free 
lands, free opinions, free worship, and freedom to choose their 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 27 

own rulers, and make their own laws, and regulate their own 
taxes, to all who would come hither, thousands upon thousands, 
often embracing nearly whole neighborhoods, for the reasons 
given, and because of the high rents demanded by their land- 
lords, as fast as they could get away, hastened to accept the 
invitation ; and year after year the tide rolled westward, until 
it almost looked as if those parts of Ireland were to be de- 
populated. In September, 1736, alone, one thousand families 
sailed from Belfast, because of their inability to renew their 
leases upon satisfactory terms, and the most of them came to 
the eastern and middle counties of Pennsylvania. They 
hoped by a change of residence to find a freer field for the 
exercise of their industry and skill, and for the enjoyment of 
their religious opinions. The}^ brought with whem a hatred 
of oppression, and a love of freedom in its fullest measure, 
that served much to give that independent tone to the senti- 
ments of our people which prevailed in their controversies 
with their home and foreign governments years before they 
seriously thought of independence. 

They filled up this valley. They cut down its forests, and 
brought its fair lands under cultivation. They fought the 
s'avage and stood as a wall of fire against his further forays 
eastward. Between 1771 and 1773, over Jt^enty-five thousand 
of them (all Presbyterians) came hither, driven from the 
places of their birth by the rapacity of their landlords. This 
was j ust before our revolutionary war, and whilst the angry 
controversies that preceded it were taking place between the 
American colonies and the English government, and these 
emigrants, upon their arrival here, were just in that frame of 
mind that was needed to make them take the part they did 
with the patriots in favor of liberty and independence of the 
mother country. The Scotch-Irish, in the struggle for national 
independence, were ever to be found on the side of the colo- 
nies. A tory was unheard of among them. I doubt if the race 
ever produced one. Pennsylvania owes much of what she is 
to-day to the fact that so many of this race settled within her 
borders as early as they did. They were our military leaders 
in all times of danger, and they were among our most promi- 
nent law-makers in the earliest days of the colony, and through 
and after the long and bitter struggle for freedom and human 



28 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

rights. They helped to make our constitutions and to frame 
our fundamental laws ; they furnished the nation with five 
Presidents, and our State with seven Governors, many United 
States Senators, Congressmen, Judges, and others eminent in 
all the avocations of life. The names of these patriots and 
wise men, as well as the names of many of their descendants, 
are familiar words, not only here but throughout the Union ; 
and none of the many diverse nationalities of which this great 
people is composed, did more for the national good, prosperity 
and glory, than those known as the "Scotch-Irish," and their 
descendants. 

ROUTE FROM EAST TO WEST. 

In those days the chief route of communication from Phila- 
delphia and tlie eastern parts of the colony to the west, was 
up this valley to Shippensburg, thence by the old military 
road across to Fort Loudon, thence over the mountains to 
Bedford, and thence to Fort Cumberland. All transportation 
was done by pack horses, each carrjang about 200 pounds. 
Sir John Sinclair, Quartermaster General of General Brad- 
dock, moved much of his supplies by that route, and had one 
of his principal magazines at M'Dowell's mill, or fort. And 
after I^raddock's defeat a large part of his dispirited and 
destitute troops returned by that route, and were quartered at 
Shippensburg and Carlisle. In 1755 the Province of Penn- 
sylvania made a broad wagon road from Fort Loudon west- 
ward, which General Forbes and Colonel Bouquet and others 
used in their western expeditions. Upon that road, for the 
greater part of its length, the present Chambersburg and 
Pittsburg turnpike was built. 

Colonel Samuel Miles, in his manuscvipt^ says : 
"In the year 1T58, the expedition against Fort Du Quesne, 
now Pittsburg, was iindertakcn, and our batallion joined the 
British army at Carlisle. At this time Captain Loyd had been 
promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, but retained his 
company, of which I had the command as Captain Lituttnant 
and was left some time in command of the garrison at Ship- 
pensburg. On my marching from thence with a brigade of 
wagons under my charge, at Chambers', about eleven miles 
from Shippensburg, the men mutinied, and were preparing to 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 29 

march, but by my reasoning with them, and at tlio same time 
threatening them, the most of them consented to resume their 
march to Fort Loudon, where Lieutenant Scott was with eight 
or ten months pay. Wliilethe army la}^ at Ligonier, we were 
attacked by a body of French and Indians, and I was wounded 
on the foot by a spent ball. In November of this year, (Xovem- 
ber 25th, 1158,) the army took possession of Fort Du Quesne, 
under the command of General Forbes, a poor emaciated old 
man, who for the most part of the march was obliged to be 
carried in a horse litter. In the year 1759 I was stationed at 
Ligonier, and had twenty-five picked men, out of the two 
batallions under my command." J/jYes' manuscrijyt^ second 
volume, new edition of Pennsylvania Archives, pages 559-60, 
This extract establishes the fact that, as early as 1758, trans- 
portation by wagons was also done from Shippensburg, past 
Mr. Chambers' settlement to Fort Loudon, though there was 
another and older route across the country, directly between 
those points. 

INDIAN OUTRAGES. 

Between the j-ears 1752 and 1764, when Colonel Boquet de- 
feated and conquered the confederated Indians on the Muskin- 
gum river, in the present State of Ohio, and compelled them to 
sue for peace, the people of the Cumberland Valley suffered the 
most appalling outrages and cruelties at the hands of the sava- 
ges. Many of them were slaughtered under circumstances of the 
fiendish character, others were carried into captivity among 
the tribes of the west and north-west, whilst others were taken 
into Canada, suffering every cruelty and indignity that the 
evil hearts of their captors could conceive. Many died under 
the tortures inflicted upon them, others sunk into the grave 
from grief and privations, and because of the hopelessness of 
their conditions, whilst many others only were enabled to return 
to their homes, after years of captivity, upon the conclusion of 
a general peace. The histories of those times are full of the 
narratives of those outrages, and of the capture and sufferings 
of the fearless settlers. I shall not, therefore, attempt to do 
more than refer to some of the instances in which the settlers 
of this part of the valley were the actors. 

Mr. John Kenned}', the grandfather of Mr. Lazarus Ken- 
nedy, of the Welsh Run, settled there about the year 1732, 



30 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

and took up a large body of laud. About the 3^ear ltf)0, ia 
the troublous times immediately preceding General Braddock's 
defeat, he had an adventure with the Indians, in which he was 
severely wounded, and came near losing his life. He was out 
looking for his horses, which were running loose in the woods, 
when he was fired upon by a band of prowling Indians, said 
to have been under the lead of a Chief called Coniplanter. 
The horse he was riding was killed and he was wounded in the 
thigh and shoulder. He fled for his life, and kept the Indians 
at bay by turning around occasionally and aiming at them 
with his rifle as though he were going to fire. The Indians 
would then take refuge behind the trees or bushes. In this 
way he kept on until he reached a stream, then known as 
"Rush's run," near what is now known as the old "Oil Mill." 
Being exhausted from loss of blood, and deeming it impossi- 
ble to reach the nearest fort — (called Fort M'Henry, a private 
fortification which was situated on the farm recently owned 
by Benjamin M. Powell,) he threw himself into the stream, and 
crawled under the top of a tree that had recently fallen into the 
water. The leaves were yet thick upon the tree, and there he 
laid with only his face above the water. The Indians tracked 
him to the stream by the blood drops on the ground, and there 
they lost the trail. After hunting around for some time, hav- 
ing been more than once upon the tree itself, they left. After 
remaining some three hours in the water he crawled out, and 
finally reached the fort some hours after nightfall. The In- 
dians had previously been very friendly with Mr. Kennedy, 
visiting him frequently, and the old Chief, Cornplanter, on a 
subsequent visit, after the establishment of peace, told him 
that had they known him they would not have pursued and 
fired upon him as they did. 

The records of the outrages of 1152-3, are rather meagre 
and unsatisfactory. They consisted more of abductions than 
of murders. In October, 1753, a conference was held at Car- 
lisle, between Richard Peters, Isaac Norris, and Benjamin 
Franklin, Commissioners of the Province of Pennsylvania, 
and certain Deputies from the Delawares, Shawanese, Twight- 
wees and Owendot tribes of Indians. The Indians were dis- 
satisfied with the encroachments of the whites upon their lands 
west of the mountains, and had been stirred up to a forcible 
retaliation through the emissaries of the French in Canada. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 31 

They promised future good behavior, if the trespassers were 
removed from their lands, but they did not keep their promises. 
In July, 1754, a treat}' was made with the Six Nations of In- 
dians at Albany, New York. The Commissioners from Penn- 
sylvania were John Penn, Richard Peters, Isaac Norris, and 
Benjamin Franklin. The}' made a present of £500 to the 
Chiefs in attendance. By the treaty then made the Indians 
surrendered the greater part of the lands in the western part 
of the Province in which their title had not been extinguished 
by former treaties. They subsequently complained that they 
did not understand what they were doing — that they were de- 
ceived and cheated. By the lines of the treaty the Shawanese, 
Delawares and Monseys, on the Susquehanna, Juniata, Alle- 
gheny and Ohio rivers, found their lands " sold from under their 
feet," and were greatly dissatisfied and disposed to take re- 
venge. They therefore the more readily listened to the over- 
tures of the French, who were getting ready to attempt the 
ejection of the English from their possessions along the Alle- 
gheny and the Ohio rivers, and large numbers of them acted 
with the troops of that nation throughout the long and bloody- 
war that raged up to 1764. 

On the 3d of July, 1754, large numbers of the Indians of 
the west acted with the British troops in the capture of the 
Colonial forces under Colonel George Washington at Fort 
Necessity, and they were mainly instrumental in causing the 
defeat of General Braddock in July, 1755; and for nine years 
thereafter the frontier settlements were ravaged and desolated 
by their incursions. In November, 1755, they ravaged the 
Great Cove. Out of a population of ninety -three persons for- 
ty-seven were killed or taken captive. A few days after the 
house of the Widow Cox, near M'Dowell's mill, in Peters town- 
ship, was burned, and her two sons and a hired man were car- 
ried off. In February, 1756, two brothers, John and Richard 
Craig, were captured by nine Delaware Indians about two 
miles from M'Dowell's mill. In the same month a party of 
Indians made an incursion into the same township. They 
were discovered by a Mr. Alexander, near Thomas Barr's house. 
He fled and they pursued him to M'Dowell's Fort. The next 
day an engagement took place between the Indians and a por- 
tion of Captain Croghan's compan}^ and about twelve young 



32 HISTORICAL SKETCU OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

men, in which one of the soldiers and several of the Indians 
were killed, and Barr's son wounded. The same party of In- 
dians attempted to surprise the fort, but failing in that re- 
treated, and shortly after killed a young Dutch boy coming 
from foddering his master's cattle. They burnt Mr. Barr's 
house, consuming their dead in it ; and meeting five men coni- 
ing from Mr. Hoops' to M'Dowell's, they fired upon them, kill- 
ing one and wounding another very severely. In April, 1*156, 
M'Cord's Fort, near Powell's Knob, as already stated, was 
captured by the Indians, and all the inmates, twenty-seven in 
number, were either killed or carried into captivity. In the 
same month Dr. Jamison, of Colonel Armstrong's bat- 
talion, was killed by the Indians near M'Cord's Fort. Near the 
same time the persons employed by Wm. Mitchell to cut his 
grain crop were all killed or captured in the fields when at 
work. On the 26th of July, 1756, John M'Cullough and James 
M'Cullough were captured, and James Martin killed, on the 
Conococheague creek. On the 2'7th of August, 1756 the In- 
dians killed thirty-nine persons near the mouth of the Cono- 
cocheague creek. In November following, a few miles from 
M'Dowell's mill, in Peters township, the following named 
soldiers were killed, viz : James M'Donald, William M'Donald, 
Bartholomew M'Cafferty and Anthony M'Quoid, and Captain 
James Corkem and William Cornwall carried off as prisoners* 
The following settlers were also killed, viz : Samuel Perry, 
Hugh Kerrell, John Culbertson and John Woods, and his mo- 
ther-in-law, and Elizabeth Archer — and the following were 
missing, viz : four children of John Archer, and a boy named 
Samuel Meily, and a child named James M'Quoid. 

On the 29th of March, 1757, the Indians killed one woman 
at Rocky Spring and carried off eleven prisoners. On the 2d 
of Apinl, 1757, William M'Kinney and his son were killed near 
the site of the Hollywell paper mill on the Conococheague 
creek. Near the same time the family of a man named Boyd, 
living on the farm now owned by Benjamin Chambers, Esq., 
on the Harrisburg pike, two and a-lialf miles east of Cham- 
bersburg, were captured, and Mrs. Boyd and her infant killed 
and the balance of the family carried off. 

On the 23d of April, 1757, John Martin and William Blair 
were killed on the Conococheague, and Patrick M'Clellan 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 33 

grounded, Tvho died near Maxwell's Fort. On the 12th of May 
following two old men, John Martin and Andrew Paul were 
captured and carried otf. On the 6th of June in the same year, 
two men were killed and five taken prisoners near Shippens- 
burg. 

June 24th of the same year Alexander Miller and two of his 
daughters were killed. Juh^ 27th, Mr. M'Kisson was wounded 
and two of his sons captured at the South Mountain. August 
15th, William Manson and his son were killed near Cross' 
Fort. September 26th, Eobert Rush and John M'Cracken 
were killed and others of their couipanions were taken pris- 
oners near Chambersburg. In April, 1758, a band of Indians 
crossed over our county to York, now Adams county, and at 
Carroll's tract captured Robert Bard and his wife and family, 
Samuel Hunter, Daniel M'Minimy, Thomas Potter and others. 
They murdered Thomas Potter and one of the children on their 
retreat. 

In 1763 a large body of Indians invaded this county, ahd 
murdered a number of persons, setting fire to houses, barns, 
hay, corn and everything combustible. Most of the settlers 
fled for safet}^ with their families — some to the fort at Cham- 
bersburg, others to the fort at Shippensburg, others to Car- 
lisle, and yet others to York county. History sa3^s, that there 
were as many as fourteen hundred of the panic-stricken set- 
tlers at Shippensburg at one time. After putting their fami- 
lies in places of safety many of the fearless pioneers returned 
to look after their abandoned homes, horses and cattle and 
crops. 

A Scotch-Irishman of the name of Thomas Pomeroy was 
one of the earliest settlers in Lurgan township. One of his 
early ancestors was a French Huguenot, and at the time of the 
massacre of Saint Bartholomew's day in 1572, he was engaged 
in teaching a classical school in Paris. He escaped from the 
city on that terrible night, and with some other Huguenots 
crossed over to Ireland, where he settled. Nearly one hun- 
dred and fifty 3'ears afterwards, Thomas Pomero}', before 
mentioned, one of his descendants left Ireland, the place of 
his birth, and removed to Liverpool, England, where he en- 
gaged in commerical pursuits. From thence he emigrated to 
America early in the eighteenth century, and located in Lur- 
3 



34 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

gan township, about two miles east of where the town of Rox- 
bury now stands, on a small stream which rises in the neigh- 
boring mountains and is now know as Kebuck's run. lie was 
the great-great grandfather of John M. Pomeroy, Esq., of our 
town. There he raised a large famil}- and died about the be- ' 
ginning of the revolutionary war. His son Thomas, the great 
grandfather of John M., was there born in the year 1133, and 
settled near the ancestral home, living happily and prosperously 
with his increasing family. On the morning of the 21st of 
July, 1763, Thomas Pomeroy left his home for the purpose of 
hunting deer. Returning after a short absence he found his 
wife and two children dead, having been tomahawked and 
scalped b}' a small party of lurking savages, who were doubt- 
less concealed near by when he went awa3\ A Mrs. Johnson, 
an inmate of the house, had an arm broken, her skull fractured 
and the scalp torn off her head. She was left for dead, but 
showing signs of life, was removed to Shippensburg, where 
she received medical aid. The bodies of these victims of 
fiendish cruelty were buried a short distance from the place of 
their murder, in a spot of ground on which the barn belong- 
ing to the late John A. Rebuck was subsequently erected. 

On the 26th of Jul}', 1764, a party of three Indians mur- 
dered a school master, named Brown, about three miles north- 
west of Green Castle, at the same time killing and scalping ten 
of the scholars. One of the scholars, named Archibald M'- 
Cullough, was scalped and left for dead, but subsequently re- 
covered and lived many years. Richard Bard in his narra- 
tive of his captivity among the Indians says, that "it was re- 
markable that, with few exceptions, these scholars were averse 
to going to school that morning." When the Indians took pos- 
session of the school house, the master prayed them to take 
Ms life and spare the children, but they refused. The two old 
Indians unfeelingly stood at the door, whilst the yoimgcr one, 
a mere boy, entered the house, and with a piece of wood in 
the form of an Indian maul, killed the teacher and scholars, 
and afterwards scalped them all. On the 4th of August, 1843, 
a number of the citizens of Green Castle went out to the place 
that tradition had pointed out as the spot where the victims 
of this outrage had been buried. It was near what is called 
"Guitner's" school house, on the farm of Christian Koser. 
At the base of the hill on which the school house had stood. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIX COUNTY. OO 

in a small drafter meadow, they found upon digging to the depth 
of about four feet, a quantity of human bones, part of them 
being evidently the remains of a man of large size, and the 
others those of a number of children. 

These are but some of the instances of savage cruelty which 
occurred during this dark and bloody period. During all those 
years, Colonel Benjamin Chambers and his family remained in 
security in the stone fort, which in 175G he had erected at the 
confluence of the Falling Spring and Conococheague Creek. He- 
had surrounded his fort with a high stockade and a trench filled 
with water from the Falling Spring, and having armed it with 
two four-pound iron cannon, and a plentiful supply of rifles 
and other arms, the Indian parties who ravaged the country 
gave it a wide berth and never attacked or attempted to cap- 
ture it. 

LAYING OUT OF CHAMBERSBrRG. 

In 1764 Benjamin Chambers laid out histown of Charabers- 
burg at this point. The settlement, though over thirty years- 
old then, must still have been quite small. The town plot 
was south of the Falling Spring and east of the Conococheague, 
and looked more for a southern than a western extension, as 
is evidenced by the improvements towards the south. Colonel 
Chambers, in his advertisement in the Pennsylvania Gazette, 
printed at Philadelphia in 1764, in which he announced that 
the drawing for lots in his new town would take place on the 
28th of June, inst., says that "it is situated in a well timbered' 
part of the country." This statement made only thirty-four- 
years after he settled in the country, strongly negatives the 
traditionary report that when the firsi; settlements were made 
in this valley it was a prairie country, devoid of timber, ex- 
cept along the streams. 

Col. Benjamin Chambers, the founder of Chambersburg, was, 
as I have already stated, a native of the county Antrim, Ire- 
land. Neither the place nor the exact date of his birth is 
now known. lie was, however, very young when he landed 
with his three brothers at Philadelphia, about the year 1726. 
He died at Chambersburg on the 17th February, 1788, aged 
as the record on his tombstone in the Falling Spring Cemetery 
.says, "Eighty years and upwards:'' The Hon. George Cham- 



36 irisTorjcAL sketch of fhaxklin county. 

bers, in an article pul)lishod in "Day's Historical Collections 
of Pennsylvania," page 350, says, that he "was about twenty- 
one years of age when he made his settlement on the Falling 
Spring;" and his settlement having been made about the year 
1730, this statement, if correct, would place his birth about 
the year HOi). In a deposition made in Philadelphia on the 
8th of December, 1736, in relation to the encroachments of the 
Maryland authorities, under the notorious Captain Thomas 
€'ressap, upon the lands claimed hy the Penns along the south- 
ern boundary line of their Province, Benjamin Chambers 
styles himself '"a millwrigiit, aged about twenty-three years, 
and resident in the county of Lancaster." If this was his true 
age, he must have been born about the year 1713, and was 
onh' about thirteen years old when he landed at Philadelphia 
in the year 172G, and therefore only about seventeen or eigh- 
teen years of age when he commenced his settlement here in 
1730. He possessed but the ordinary common school educa- 
tion of those days — reading, M'riting and arithmetic. He was 
of an inquiring turn of mind, and subsequentl}' greatly en- 
larged his knowledge. At some early period of his life it is 
said that he had acquired a knov/ledge of the mysteries of 
surve3'ing. But beyond these he possessed that which was of 
the utmost importance in the new, untried and hazardous life 
of a frontiersman, viz: good common sense, sound judgment, 
a profound knowledge of men, an innate love of justice, and 
that calmness and courage necessary to enable him to meet 
AAith equanimity the varying circumstances of the times in 
which he lived. These traits of character gave him great in- 
fl.uence. in the community in which he lived, and for many 
3'ears as a Magistrate therein, he acted as the arbiter of all 
their disputes. It is said that he spoke with fluenc}" the 
language of the Indian tribes of this section of country, and 
was on terms of intimacy with their Chiefs and leading men. 
This. gave him great influence over them, and recommended 
him to the favorable notice of the Colonial authorities ; and 
the best evidence of his standing, among both the whites and 
Indians around him, is the fact that there is no evidence ex- 
isting that he ever had any disputes or difficulties with the 
former, nor that the latter ever did him any harm in person 
or estate, or attempted to capture his dwelling and fort. 



UISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 37 

In the year 1136 lie and five others were appointed l\y the 
County Court of Lancaster county, to revie^v a public road 
which had been laid out in the previous year "from Harris' 
Ferr}-, now Harrisburg, on the Susquehanna, to the southern 
boundary of the province, towards the Potomac river." 

In the 3'earl747 he was appointed by the Provincial Council 
of Pennsylvania, Colonel of the Pvegiment of Associators of 
Lancaster count}^, "west of the Sasquehanna river," in antici- 
pation of a war with the Indians. Kobert Dunning was Lieu- 
tenant Colonel of the Regiment, and William Maxwell its Major. 
The Regimental Roster shows that there were a number of the 
companies of his regiment from this part of Cumberland 
county, but all the company rolls are, so far as I know. lost. 

On the 10th of March, 1749, he svas commissioned a Justice 
of the Peace and Judge of the County Court of Common 
Pleas for the county of Cumberland, a position that he was 
well qualified to fill, and one of the most unpleasant duties 
that he had to perform in his capacity as a magistrate, was to 
remove from the territory claimed by the Indians, those settlers 
who had, in violation of the orders of the Colonial authori- 
ties, intruded upon the lands not yet sold by the Indians, west 
of the mountains. In May, 1750, Richard Peters, Secretary 
of the Province, accompanied by Benjamin Chambers and 
other magistrates of Cumberland county, visited Path Yallej^ 
and Aughwick and Sherman's Valleys and other localities, 
and burnt and destroyed by order of the Government, a large 
number of improvements that had been illegally made in those 
valkn's, and put the settlers under bonds to appear at Carlisle 
and answer for their misdoings. 

When the county of Cumberland was erected in the j^ear 
1750, Col. Chambers was appointed one of the Trustees to 
select a site for the Public Buildings of the new county. He 
advocated the selection of his settlement at the Falling Spring, 
others desired that Shippensburg should be selected, and 
others Carlisle. The latter point was finally determined upon, 
principally through the influence of the agents of the proprie- 
taries. 

In the same year, (1750,) Colonel Chambers acted as one 
of the commissioners to fix and determine the boundary line 
between the counties of Cumberland and York, (now Adams,) 



v^8 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

and his views, fixing the top of the South Mountain as the 
best place for the line, were ultimately adopted by the Legis- 
lature. 

About the time of Braddock's defeat, in 1155, Benjamin 
Chambers was serving as one of the Lieutenant Colonels in 
the Provincial service, along with the following Captains from 
this part of the valley, viz : Alexander Culbertson, of Lurgan 
township ; Rev. John Steel, of Peters township, and William 
Trent, at the mouth of the "Conegochege." 

In the year 1756, Col. Chambers built a large stone dwelling 
house on the site of the present woolen mill, at the mouth of 
the Falling Spring — stockaded it — surrounded it with water 
from the Spring, and armed it with two iron four-pound can- 
non presented to him by the British Government, and with 
other fire arms. For greater securit}' , the roof was covered 
with sheet lead brought from England, and in it he and his 
family, and the terrified settlers who fled to it for refuge during 
the Indian incursions always remained safel^'. 

In the year 1756 he got into trouble with the Colonial au- 
thorities about his "great guns." They were fearful that the 
French and Indians might capture Mr. Chambers' fort and 
turn these guns against Shippensburg and Carlisle. Lieut. 
Governor Wm. Denny demanded these guns of Col. Chambers 
in 1757, and commissioned the sheriff of Cumbeiland county 
to seize them ; Col. Chambers resisted the demand, and his 
neighbors sustained him in his refusal to give them up. The 
people throughout this whole valley were greatly excited at 
what they conceived the unjust demand of the government. 
Col. John Armstrong writing about Mr. Chambers' conduct 
said, "it is thought he designs to give trouble, as he has the 
brass and malice of the devil." Colonel Chambers held on 
to his guns, and having given bonds to try his rights in court, 
the government quietly dropped the matter. About this time 
.all the Justices of the Peace of Cumberland county resigned 
their commissions, and Colonel Armstrong in the same letter 
says, that there was much difficulty in filling their places in 
consequence "of the Governor's treatment of Ben. Chambers, 
in regard to his guns." 

During the controversy between the Penns and the heirs of 
Lord Baltimore, relative to the boundary line between their 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 39 

possessions, Colonel Chambers' knowledge was of great im- 
j^ortance to the former, and at their solicitation he visited 
England to assist in terminating their disputes, which were 
^protracting and embarrasing the settlement of both provinces. 
His services were highly estimated by the Pennsylvania Pro- 
prietaries and authorities, and were subsequently gratefully 
remembered by both the former parties. 

Col. Chambers at a very early period appropriated as a 
burial ground a beautiful and romantic Cedar Grove adjoining 
the Falling Spring Church. The spot is yet one of the most 
appropriate places of sepulture to be found in the Cumberland 
Valley. On the first of January, 1768, he conveyed this, with 
some additional ground, by a deed of gift, to certain persons 
"in trust for the Presbyterian Congregation of the Falling 
Spring, now professing and adhering to, and that shall here- 
after adhere to, and profess the Westminster profession of 
faith and the mode of church government therein contained, 
and to and for the use of a meeting house, or Presbyteriaji 
church, session house, school house, burying place, graveyard 
and such religious purposes." He was an active, efficient and 
attentive member of the congregation for many years of his 
life, and up until his death, and also served as a member of the 
board of trustees until 1787, when, on account of his advanced 
age and infirmities, he asked leave to resign. 

At the commencement of the Revolutionary war, Colonel 
Chambers was so infirm and advanced in years as to be unfitted 
for active service. He was however an ardent patriot, in full 
sympathy with his struggling countrymen. He sent three of 
his sons — James, Williams and Benjamin to the army at Bos- 
ton, to do what he could not — fight for the Independence of 
their native land. James Chambers took with him the first 
company of infantry that went out of this valley. He started 
as their Captain and subsequently rose to the rank of Colonel 
in the Revolutionary Army — Williams and Benjamin rose to 
the rank of Captain, and they each saw much service. In 1778 
Williams and Benjamin, because of the infirmity of their 
father and the condition of his affairs, returned home. Col. 
Chambers lived to see the country of his adoption one of the 
free and independent nations of the earth, beginning her career 
with ever}^ prospect for national prosperity and greatness — 



40 IIISTROICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

when on the IVth of Februar}', 1788, he closed his long, busy 
and eventful life, and was buried in the cemetery his munifi- 
cence had set apart for the use of his neighbors and those of 
his religious faith, on the banks of the clear and beautiful 
Conococheague. 

THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE. 

It was to be expected when the first mutte rings of our revolu- 
tionary contest were heard, that the Scotch-Irish people of 
this valley would be amongst the earliest to rise up against 
the threatened oppression, and prepare for the struggle. Ac- 
cordingly, we find that as earl}^ as the 12th of Jnly, 1774, the 
citizens of Cumberland county met at Carlisle, John Mont- 
gomery, Esq., of Irish nativity, in the chair, and adopted resolu- 
tions condemning the act of Parliament closing the port of 
Boston, recommending a General CongresH from all the Colo- 
nies, the abandonment of the use of British merchandise, and 
appointing deputies to concert measures for the meeting of 
the Greneral Congress. The news of the battles of Lexing- 
ton and Concord, fought on the 19th of April, 1775, was re- 
ceived with a thrill of indignation all over Pennsylvania. In 
the distant county of Cumberland, the war cry was no sooner 
sounded that its freemen rallied in thousands for military 
organization and association, in defence of their rights. A 
writer in the American Archives, volume 2, page 516, dated 
Carlisle, May Gth, 1775, saj'S : '^Yesterday the Count}^ Com- 
mittee from nineteen townships met, on the short notice they 
had. About 3,000 men have already associated. The arms 
returned are about fifteen hundred. The committee have 
voted five hundred efficient men, besides commissioned officers^ 
to be taken into pay, armed and disciplined, to march on the 
first emergenc}^ ; to be paid and supported as long as necessary, 
by a tax on all estates, real and personal." Xext morning they 
met again, and voted that the}'' "were read}- to raise fifteen 
hundred or two thousand men," should they be needed, and 
put a debt of £27,000 per annum upon the county. That was 
doing nobly for a poor backwoods count}'. During the sum- 
mer of 1775 various companies from the county of Cumber- 
land marched to join the army of Washington at the seige of 
Boston. One was from this place, under the command of 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY, 41 

James Chambers. Captain Chambers was in a short time made 
a Colonel, and he, and the company he took from here, re- 
mained in the service until near the close of the revolutionary- 
war. 

The Pennsylvania Assembly, in November, 1115, appointed 
delegates to represent the Province in Congress, and expressly 
instructed them "that they, in behalf of this colony, dissent 
from and utterly reject any propositions, should such be made, 
that may cause or lead to a separation from our mother 
countrj', or a change of the from of this government." 

PROVINCIAL CONFERENCE OF 1776. 

On the 18th of June, 1770, a Provincial Conference of com- 
mittees of the Province of Pennsylvania, met at_ Carpenters' 
Hall, in the city of Philadelphia. Cumberland county sent 
the following deputies to that conference, viz : James M'Lene, 
Colonel John Allison, John M'Clay, Dr. John Calhoun, John 
Creigh,^ Hugh M'Cormick, William Elliott, Colonel^ Williain. 
Clark, John Harris, and Hugh Alexander.^ OTtTiese, we know 
that Messrs. M'Lcne, Allison, M'Clay, Calhoun and Creigh, 
were from this county, and perhaps some of the others also. 

That conference, on the 19th of June, 1776, Resolved "that 
a convention should be called to form a neiv government, on 
the authority of the people only ;" and on the 24th of June, 
adopted unanimoushj, an address to Congress, in which they 
declared that on behalf of the people of Pennsylvania they 
were "willing to concur in a vote of Congress declaring the 
United Colonies free and independent states." 

ACTION OF THE PEOPLE OF THE VALLEY. 

The people of Cumberland count}', of all nationalities, Irish,. 
German and English, were among the first to form the opinion 
that the safety and welfare of the colonies did render separa- 
tion from the mother country necessary ; and on the 28th of 
May, 1776, presented their memorial to the Colonial Assembl}^ 
setting forth their opinions and asking "that the instructions 
given to the Pennsylvania delegates in the Continental 
Congress, in 1775, to oppose any action that might lead to a 
separation from Great Britain, may be ivithdrawn^^^ and the 
instructions were withdrawn, and our delegates in Congress- 



42 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

allowed to vote as they thought the best interests of the 
country required. 

The County Committee, in a letter to the President of Con- 
gress, dated August 16, 1776, said: "The twelfth company of 
our militia marched to-day, and six companies more are col- 
lecting arms and are preparing to march." All this was done 
in six weeks after independence was declared. The following 
persons commanded thirteen of those companies, viz : John 
Steele, Samuel Postlethwaite, Andrew Galbreath, Samuel M'- 
Cune, Thomas Turbott, James M'Connell, William Huston, 
.Thomas Clarke, John Hutton, Robert Culbertson, Charles 
Lecher, Conrad Schneider, Lieutenant Colonel Frederick 
Watts. These all, officers and men, were inured to hardship 
and experienced in warfare, and but a few days were required 
to get ready to meet their country's enemies wherever their 
services were required ; and during the whole revolutionary 
contest the people of the Cumberland valley did their full 
share in raising men and money for the public service, and I 
have referred to their conduct and services because we, of the 
county of Franklin, although not then organized as a county, 
are justly entitled to a part of the honor of their deeds, and 
because I look upon their deeds as part of the history of our 
count}'. 

The Revolutionary War was closed by the Treaty of Paris, 
between Great Britain and the "L^nited States of America," 
signed on the .30th of November, 1782, which was ratified by 
Congress in April, 1783, and during its continuance the 
Province of Pennsylvania contributed its full share of men 
and money towards the carrying on of the contest. Of the 
latter essential, {money^) I see b}' the accounts of the Provin- 
cial Treasurer, the count}' of Cumberland was called upon to 
furnish the following, viz : 

Her quota of the five million tax, - £17,225 

" " fifteen " - 111,968 

" " forty-five " - 159,555 

" " firsteight monthly taxes, 638,220 

" " second '• '" 638,220 



IBs. 


6d, 


10 


3 


2 


6 


10 





10 






£1,565,190 lis. 3d. 
It was impossible for the people of the county of Cumber- 
land to pay all this immense taxation, and from the same au- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 43 

thoritj, out of which I have copied the above statement, I 
learn that on the first of October, 1782, the county owed 
thereon £442,403, 17s. 5d. in Continental mone}', equal to 
£16,986, 2s. 9d. of State money, of the value in specie, of 
£5,899, 18s. lid. Whether this debt was ever paid, I know 
not. I only now refer to it to show the vast difference that 
then existed between the paper money of the country and 
specie. 

ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY. 

On the 9th day of September, 1784, an act of Assembly was 
passed erecting the county of Franklin out of the south- 
western part of the count}^ of Cumberland, leaving all of 
Hopewell township in Cumberland county. The act of 
Assembl}^ gives the following as the boundaiy line between the 
two counties, viz : "Beginning on the York (now Adams) 
county line, in the South mountain, at the intersection of the 
lines between Lurgan and Hopewell townships, thence by the 
line of Lurgan townsliip (leaving Shippensburg to the east- 
ward of the same) to the line of Fannett township ; and thence 
by the lines of the last mentioned township (including the 
same) to the line of Bedford count}'." 

Nothing is said about dividing Hopewell township, and it 
must therefore have all been left in Cumberland count3\ There 
were however, some doubts about the line near the town of Ship- 
pensburg, and on the 29th of March, 1790, an act was passed 
defining that part of the line and declaring that it should run 
"so as to leave the tract of land belonging to the late Edward 
Shippen, I]sq., whereon the town of Shippensburg is erected, 
within the county of Cumberland." 

The proposition for the erection of a new county had agi- 
tated the public mind for some time. At the July session of 
the General Assembl}', in the ^''ear, 1784, a petition was pre- 
sented, signed by John Rannells, John Johnson, James M'- 
Cammont, John Scott, Dr. George Clingin, Samuel Royer, 
Pat. Campbell, Patrick Vance, Nat. M'Dowell, Richard Brown- 
son, George Matthews, Oliver^Brown. Jas. Campbell, Thos. 
Campbell, John Colhoun, John Holliday, John Crawford, 
Josiah Crawford, Edward Crawford, John Boggs, Jeremiah 
Talbot, William Rannells, Joseph Armstrong, James Brother- 
ton, Benjamin ^Chambers, Benjamin Chambers, Jr., Joseph 



44 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Chambers, James Chambers, Williams Chambers, and a large 
number of other citizens, asking that the division line should 
be fixed at the Big Spring, or where Newville now is, so as to 
put Hopewell township in this county, and asking the Legis- 
lature to fix the county seat "at the most suitable and conve- 
nient place, "which to them, of course, would be at Chambers- 
burg. 

The contemplated act of Assembly had been published, and 
was not satisfactory to the people cf Lurgan township, for at 
the next session of the Assembl}^, held, on the 21st of August, 
1784. one hundred of them remonstrated against its passage 
'"because the militia 1)attalion and the religious society to 
which they belonged would be divided and thrown into differ- 
ent counties, and the social intercourse requisite in these re- 
spects, would be greatly obstructed," not to mention the bur- 
dens that would grow out of the erection of a new court house, 
prison, etc. They therefore asked to be left within the boun- 
daries of Cumberland county. 

The people of Greencastle and the southern part of the 
county thought that the seat of justice should be located there. 
Two hundred and thirty-four of them, on the 21st of August, 
1784, presented their petition, asking that the question of the 
selection of the county seat be left to a vote of the people, 
allowing two or more places for the election to be held at. 

They represented that "the town of Greencastle had been laid 
out about eighteen months, on the crossing of the main road 
from Fort Pitt to Baltimore, and the Carlisle road leading- 
through Maryland and Virginia, and is equally as central as 
Chambers' town ; that there are already twenty houses in Green- 
castle and a number more building ; and it is much better situ- 
ated to draw the trade of the back countries from Maryland, 
which at present goes chiefly to Hagerstown, and is so consid- 
erable, as to enable more than thirty persons, inhabitants of 
that place, to carry on business in the commercial line. The 
command of this trade would, we apprehend, be a considerable 
advantage, not only to this county, but to the Commonwealth 
in general." 

The Chambersburgers were successful ; the county was 
formed as they wished it, and the county seat was fixed by the 
Legislature, at Chambersburg. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 45 

11. 

AFTER THE COUNTY'S FORMATION. 

Some persons may, perhaps, think that here my labors as the 
historian of the county of Franklin should have commenced, 
and that all I have already given is outside the record. But, 
Tv'ould the history of this Union be complete without including 
in it our colonial history- ? As well might we reject from the 
histor}' of our town all that is connected with it prior to its 
laying out, in lt64, as to refuse to incorporate in the history 
of our county those things connected Mdth its settlement and 
its people prior to its erection as a county, in the year 1'784. 
The one is so intimately connected with the other that due 
notice must be given to all the prominent incidents connected 
with each, in order to make up a complete whole. 

LOCATION AND AREA. 

. Franklin is one of the '' southern tier," or border counties 
of the State. In its earliest records it was designated as the 
''Conococheague Settlement," from the name of the principal 
stream of water flowing through it. It is bounded on the east 
hy Adams count}^ ; on the north-east by Gumlierland and Perrj' 
counties ; on the north and north-west by Juniata and Hun- 
tingdon counties ; on the west by Fulton count}', and on the 
south by the State of Mar3'land. Its greatest extent from 
north to south is thirty-eight miles, and from east to west 
thirty-four miles ; containing an area of seven hundred and 
fifty square miles, or four hundred and eighty thousand acres. 
The population in 1810, according to the census returns that 
year, was forty-five thousand three hundred and sixty-five, or 
about sixt}' persons to the square" mile. 

TOPOGRAPHY.- 

Our valley lies about six hundred feet above the tide level. 
The eastern part of it is broken t\nd hilly. The South moun- 
tain, which forms the eastern boundary' of the county, rises 
from six to nine hundred feet above the central part of the 
valley. The northern and north-western parts of the county 
are mountainous. The Kittatinn}-, or Xorth mountains, as the 
first range west of the Cumberland valley is called, stretch. 



4G UISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

through much of that section of the count}^ Their most 
promineut elevations are Parnell's and Jordan's Knobs, each, 
of whicli rises to the height of about twelve hundred feet. In 
the south-west is the Cove mountain with its prominences, Clay 
Lick and Two-top mountains. Beyond these the Tuscarora 
mountains, running from south-west to north-east, rise to the 
height of seventeen hundred feet, and form the boundary be- 
tween our county and the counties of Fulton, Huntingdon 
and Juniata. 

STREAMS. 

The Tuscarora creek rises in the north-western part of the 
count}', and runs in a northern direction, by the town of Con- 
cord, through the Tuscarora mountains, and unites with the 
main branch of Tuscarora creek in Juniata county. The 
"West ii ranch of the Couococheague creek also rises in the 
same section of the county, on the borders of Perry county, 
flows south-westwardly through Amberson's and Path valleys, 
past Loudon, and unites with the east branch of the Conoco- 
cheague about three miles north of the Maryland line, receiving 
in its course many smaller streams. The East Couococheague 
creek rises in the South mountain, in the eastern part of th.e 
county, flows first northward, and then south-westward, receiv- 
ing many tributaries, the principal of which is the Falling 
Spring, at Chambersburg, unites with the West Branch, and 
empties into the Potomac at Williamsport, Maryland. The 
Conodoguinnet rises in Horse valley, and flowing north-east, 
passes through the mountains at Roxbury, and thence into 
Cumberland county, and empties into the Susquehanna. The 
Antietam creek has two branches, both rising in the South 
mountain, in the south-eastern part of the county. They flow 
in a southern direction, and uniting near the Maryland line, 
empty into the Potomac. Cove creek drains the south-western 
part of the county, between the Cove and Tuscarora moun- 
tains, flows south through the Little Cove, and empties into 
Licking creek. The waters of the northern third of our 
county, containing about one hundred and sixty thousand 
acres, or two hundred and fifty square miles, except a part of 
those in Amberson's valley, are drained towards the Susque- 
hanna. Those of the remaining parts of the county flow into 
the Potomac. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 47 

CHARACTER OF SOIL. 
( 

Much the greater part of the land in our county is lime- 
stone. The limestone lands east of the Conococheague are 
well watered, fertile, and in a high state of cultivation. They 
are estimated at one hundred and eighty thousand acres. Along 
the base of the South mountain, and between it and the lime- 
stone lands, is a strip of territory from one to two miles wide, 
known as the "pine lands," which for the most part is said to 
be equal for fertility and certainty of product to any in the 
county, and is estimated to contain twenty thousand acres. 

It is composed of sand, mixed with clay, and water-worn peb- 
bles. West of the Conococheague the slate lands prevail, mixed 
however, here and there with limestone. They are estimated 
at one hundred and sixty thousand acres, and are not gener- 
ally so fertile as the limestone, but more easily cultivated, and 
abounding in pure streams of water, and in luxuriant meadows. 
The experience of late years leads to the conclusion that these 
lands when generously ti-eated with lime, or other fertilizers, 
are as desirable and as productive and remunerative, all things 
considered, as the higher priced lands of the limestone re- 
gions. The mountainous districts, on the eastern and western 
boundaries of the county contain about one hundred and 
twenty thousand acres of land, much of it quite valuable be- 
cause of its excellent timber, and other large bodies of it very 
valuable because of the inexhaustible quantities of iron ore 
contained in them. 

GEOLOGICAL FEATURES. 

A minute description of the many and varied formations in 
the geological structure of our county would consume too 
much space for this sketch. The South mountain consists 
almost entirely of hard white sandstone. The valley west of 
it contains the great limestone formatioa. Several belts of 
different colored slates, and sometimes sandstones, are found 
here and there, intermixed with it. West and north-west of 
the east branch of the Conococheague creek the slate lands 
predominate, though even among them, at various places there 
are belts of limestone found. The south-western part of the 
county is of the same geological character. The mountain 
ranges in the west and north-western sectiona of the county 



48 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

are composed mainly, of the Levant white, red and gray sand- 
stones. We liave no coal in any part of the county, hut iron ore 
abounds along the base of the mountains on both sides of the 
county, and in Path valle}'. 

LAWS IN FORCE IN 1784. 

At the time of the organization of our count}' in 1784, the 
State Constitution of 1776 was in force. It provided that the 
State should be apportioned for representatives in the General 
Assembly everj^ seven j-ears. They were to be elected annu- 
ally and could not serve more than four 3'ears in seven. 

It also provided for the election of a body called the 
*' Supreme Executive Council," one of whom was to be elected 
for each count}', to serve for three j-ears, and no Councillor 
could serve for more than three years out of seven. They 
were Justices of the Peace for the whole State. 

The President and Vice President of the Supreme Execu- 
tive Council were to be chosen annually, from the members of 
the council, b}' the joint votes of the members of the General 
Assembly and the Council. The Council met annually at the 
same time and place as the General Assembly, and the Presi- 
dent, or in case of his absence, the Vice President, exercised 
the executive functions of the Commonwealth. 

It also provided that delegates to Congress should be 
elected annually by the General Assembly, and might be su- 
perseded at any time, by the General Assembly appointing 
others in their places. And no delegate could serve more 
than two years succssively, nor be re-appointed for three j^ears 
afterwards. 

Sheriffs and Coroners were to be voted for b}' the people an- 
nually, two for each office to be returned to the S-upreme Exe- 
cutive Council, who appointed and commissioned one of the per- 
sons thu.s returned. Xo Sheriff or Coroner could serve more 
than three 3'ears in seven. 

Prothonotaries, Clerks of Courts, Registers and Recorders 
were to be appointed by the Supreme Executive Council, to 
hold during their pleasure. 

One Justice of the Peace was to be elected for each ward, 
township or district, to be commissioned by the Supreme Exe- 
cutive Council, to serve for seven years. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 49 

The Coimt}^ Courts of Common Pleas, Quarter Sessions, &c., 
were composed, generally, only of such of the Justices of the 
Peace of the counties as were specially appointed and commis- 
sioned to act as Judges of said courts, three of whom formed a 
quorum. 

In Philadelphia, and some of the older and larger counties 
of the State, the Presidents of the county courts were gentle- 
men learned in the law. 

FIRST ELECTION IN OUR COUNTY. 

The first general election in our county was held on Tues- 
day, the 12th day of October, n84, in Chambersburg, there 
being but one voting place for the whole county, and to it all 
those who "desired to vote had to come. The county was en- 
titled to elect one member of the Supreme Executive Council, 
and three representatives in the Legislature. James M'Lene 
was elected Councillor, to serve for three years, and James 
Johnston, Abraham Smith and James M'Calmont were elected 
Representatives. Jeremiah Talbot, Sheriff; John Rhea, Cor- 
oner, and James Poe, John Work and John Beard, County 
-Commissioners. The vote for County Commissioners was as 
follows, viz : James Poe, 822 ; John Work, 421 ; John Beard, 
S39. 

ELECTION DISTRICTS. 

By the act of the 13th of September, lt85, the county was 
divided into two election districts, the first district composed 
of the townships of Antrim, Peters, Guilford, Lurgan, Hamil- 
ton, Letterkenny, Franklin, (or Chambersburg,) Washington, 
Southampton and Montgomerj-, to vote at the court house in 
Chambersburg ; and Fannett township, the second district, to 
vote at the house of the widow Elliott, in said township. 

By the act of the 10th of September, 1*78*7, our county was 
divided into four election districts, the first district composed 
of the towiiships of Guilford, Franklin, Hamilton, Letterkenny, 
Lurgan and Southampton, to vote at the court house in Cham- 
bersburg. The second district, Fannett township, to vote at 
the house of widow Elliott, in that township. The third dis- 
trict, composed of Antrim and Washington townships, to vote 
at the house of George Clark, in Greencastle ; and ihc fourth 
4 



50 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

district, Peters and Montgomery townships, to vote at the 
house of James Crawford in Mercersburg. 

These provisions, drawn from tlie acts of Assembly, show 
that our forefathers were enabled to exercise the inestimable 
privileges of the ballot only at a great sacrifice of time, trou- 
ble and expense. jS'ow we have our voting places often within 
a stone's throw of our residences, and rarely, even in the rural 
districts, more than a few miles away, and all of easy and 
speedy access ; then the voters were compelled to travel many 
weary miles, OA'er new, rough, and unbroken roads, and ford 
or swim unbridged and dangerous streams, if they desired to 
cast their ballots for or against the men or measures of the 
day. 

At the second county election held in October, 1185, James 
M'Calmont, Abraham Smith and John Rhea were elected mem- 
bers of the Assembly; Jeremiah Talbot, Sheriff, and John 
Johnston, Coroner. 

PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 

The eleventh section of the act of Assemblj^, for the organ- 
ization of our county, appointed James Maxwell, James M'Cam- 
mont, Josiah Crawford, David Stoner and John Johnston trus- 
tees to procure two lots of ground for the sites of a court house 
and prison for the new county ; and the twelfth section directed 
that the county commissioners should pay over to the said 
trustees a sum not exceeding one thousand two hundred pounds 
($3,200) to be by them expended in the erection of the necessar}^ 
public buildings. 

On the 28th of September, 1184, Col. Benjamin Chambers, 
for the nominal consideration of ten pounds, or twent3'-sisi 
dollars and sixty-six and two-third cents, conveyed to the county 
of Franklin the lot on which the court house now stands, to be 
used as a site for a court house and public buildings and 
no other ; and the lot on the north side of east Market street, 
opposite the present "Washington House," for the site of a 
county prison. 

Messrs. Maxwell, M'Cammont, et al.^ the trustees appointed 
by the Legislature to build a court house and jail for our 
county, contracted with Captain Benjamin Chambers to put 
up the former, and with David and Joshua Riddle to put up 
the latter. When these buildino-s were contracted for and what 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 51 

were the prices for erecting them cannot now he tokl, as all 
the records in relation thereto have been destroyed. The first- 
payments on the court house were made in 1792, amounting to 
about £700, and its whole cost, so far as I can judge by the 
drafts granted Captain Chambers, was about $4,100.00. It 
was not finished until 1794. 

According to the advertisement of the trustees, the con- 
tract for the prison was to have been given out on the 10th of 
September, 17Sfi. When it was made 1 know not. It was got- 
ten under roof about 1791. In November, 1796, the sum of 
£337, 10s. was paid on it, but it was not finished until about 
1797 or 98, as appears by the expenditures made on account 
of it. 

THE OLD COURT HOUSE. 

This building was of brick, two stories high, and about fifty 
feet square. It stood immediately west of the present build- 
ing, its eastern wall being about four or five feet distant from 
the western end of the present court house, and it was occu- 
pied by the courts and public offices whilst the new building- 
was being erected. It was then torn down and the portico and 
steps of the present building were put up on part of its site. 
It was well and substantially built, presented a rather pleasing- 
appearance, and was fully sufficient for those early times. The 
main front faced Market street, and there was a heavy corniee 
all around the building. There were a cupola and bell on the- 
building. The spire was surmounted by an iron rod, with a. 
large copper ball on it next the top of the spire ; then above 
that a "Rooster," and above the latter a smaller ball. The main 
entrance was on the southern front, but . it was not used for 
many years. A door in the western end, near the southern cor- 
ner was the usual place of entrance. Opposite this last door 
was another door in the eastern end, opening into the yard.. 
The court hall occupied all the lower floor. Along its south- 
ern side was a tier of seats for spectators, some three or four 
in number, rising high up the wall. These were put in after 
the building was completed, and they crossed over and closed 
up the main door in the south side of the room. Between 
these seats and the bar, which occupied nearly one-half of the 
floor, there was a space of about ten feet in width, paved with 
red brick. The bar was raised some two or three feet above 



^^Z HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

'this paTtvment and the Judge's seat, which was on the north 
side of the room, was some tAvo or three steps above the bar. 
The traverse jury box was on the east side of the bar, and tlie 
grand jury box on the west side, adjoining the stairs leading 
to the second stor}', in which there were a grand jury room and 
two traverse jury rooms. 

THE OLD JAIL. 

The first jail built b}' the county was of stone, two stories 
-high, about forty by sixty feet in size, and stood on the north- 
• east corner of Second and Market streets, where Peifier & 
Uoebler's coach shop now stands. It was often crowded with 
poor "debtors" in those early da3-s, men who were so unfortu- 
: nate as to be in debt and have no goods nor money with which 
to pay their liabilities. To honest men it was a fearful place ; 
but rogues laughed at its nail-studded doors, iron bars, and 
thick but poorly-constructed walls. Between the date of the 
formation of our count}- in 1^84, and the completion of the 
•^'old stone jail" in 1T98, persons charged with the commission 
^of^rave offences in this county were kept in the jail at Carlisle. 
The county accounts for those years contain man}' items for 
the expenses of taking prisoners to Carlisle, keeping them 
thei'e-and bringing them here for trial. Persons charged with 
'Offen-ces of a minor grade were kept here in a temporary prison, 
and there are also numerous charges for "repairs" to that 
prison — for "iron for bars," for "leg bolts, manacles, &c.," and 
-for. the pay of those who acted as "guards" at the prison. 
'TTradition says that this prison was an old log house on the 
\.lot now the property of Levi I), llummelsine, on the west side 
of South Main street. That it was some such insecure place 
-is evidenced by the expenditures made upon it above referred 
to, and also from the fact that in ItSS, the commissioners of 
the county paid Samuel M'Clelland £2, 5s. 6d. for "underpin- 
ning the prison." There were no brick buildings here in 1785, 
and only three stone ones, viz : Chamber's fort, John Jack's 
tavern and Nicholas Snider's blacksmith shop. All the rest 
were of logs, small and inconvenient, and it must have been 
one of the worst of these that was used as a prison at first, for 
only such an one would have needed "underpinning," and re- 
quire bars, leg bolts, manacles and guards to keep its inmates 
. safely. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIX COUNTY. 53 

Nor were prisoners then allowed to spend their time in idle- 
ness whilst in jail as at the present time. They were kept at 
labor, as is evinced by the numerons expenditures for "picks- 
and shovels" and "wheel-borroughs," and for the pay of the-, 
superintendents and keepers of the "wheel-borrough men." 

THE PUBLIC OFFICES. 

Between the years 1184 and 1809, a period of twenty-five-! 
years, Edward Ci'awford, Esq., held the offices of Prothonotar}'^, 
Register and Recorder and Clerk of the Courts, and for- 
twenty-two years he had his office in a building which he 
erected for the purpose at his residence on east Market street, ., 
on the site now occupied by the law office of Messrs. Kennedy 
& Stewart. In the month of October, 1806, the first county 
offices were finished and occupied. The building stood about 
twenty feet east of the old court house, facing on Market 
street, and cost about $2,500.00. It was of brick, two stories, 
high, and about forty feet long by twenty-five feet wide. The 
Prothonotary and Clerk's offices were in the western end, and 
the Register's and Recorder's offices in the eastern end, the 
building being divided by a hall in the centre. In the rear of 
each office was a small vaulted room for the preservation of 
the records and papers of the offices. On the second story 
were the offices of the County Commissioners, County Treas- 
urer, Deput}" Surveyor, &c. This building was torn down 
when the new court house was commenced, about the year: 
1842. 

COUNTY COURTS. 

I have already stated that the "count}' courts" in those- 
days were held by such Justices of the Peace of the county 
as were specially commissioned to act as Judges of the said 
courts. Three of them formed a quorum to do business^. 
They then held their offices for seven years ; and by the fiftli, 
section of the act erecting our county, it was provided that 
the commissions of all Justices residing within the boundaries, 
of the new county should continue in force until the expira— 
tion of their several terms. How many such there were I 
know not. I give, however, the names of such of them as- 
acted as Judges of our courts after our county was oi'gan— 
ized. 



54 IIISTOIIIC.AL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

The fifth section of the act erecting our county provided 
that the Courts of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions should 
be held four times in each year, and that the Quarter Sessions 
should sit three days in each session, and no more. 

This act was approved on Thursday, September 9th, n84. 
On Saturday, September 11th, 178-1, Edward Crawford Esq., 
Avas appointed and commissoncd Prothonotary, Register and 
Hecorder and Clerk of the Courts for our county. He was 
also at the same time commissioned a Justice of the county 
•courts of our county. I suppose he was at the seat of govern- 
ment (Philadelphia) at the time, looking after the passage of 
the law creating our county, for on the same day he appeared 
before the Supreme Executive Council, and was sworn into 
•office and got his commissions. On the next Wednesday, 
September 15th 1184, four days afterwards, he was at home, 
and the first court held in our county was convened that day, 
before Humphrey Fullerton and Thomas Johnson, Esq's, 
•Justices for Antrim township, and James Finle3', Esq., a 
-Justice of Letterkenny township — all of them former Justices 
and Judges in Cvimberland county, whose commissions were 
in force, and who were therefore qualified to hold court in 
Franklin county. There were no jurors present, no causes, 
•civil or criminal, for trial, and I incline to the opinion that 
there were no lawyers present but one, John Clark, Esq., of 
the York bar, who was married to a daughter of Nicholas 
Eittinger, who lived near Mont Alto Furnace. Mr. Clark 
^was most likely here casually. He had been a Major in the 
Pennsjdvania Line in the revolutionary war, had been a mem- 
ber of the bar of long standing and of extended reputation, 
yet he was, on his own request, admitted to the bar of our 
■county. Had there been any "brother attorne}^" present, en- 
titled to the privileges of his profession, Mr. Clark would not 
iave been compelled to request his own admission. 

The second session of our county court, being the first 
^business session, was held on Thursday, December 2d, 1784 in 
the second story of John Jack's stone tavern house, which stood 
where A. J. Miller's drug store now is, until the fire of 1864. 
The Judges present were William M'Dowell, of Peters ; 
Humphrey Fullerton, of Antrim ; and James Finley, of Let- 
terkenny ; Eldward Crawford, Jr., Prothonotary and Clerk ; 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 00 

Jeremiah Talbott, Sheriff. The grand jiuy were thirteen in 
number, viz : James Poe, Henry Pawling, William Allison, 
William M'Dowell, Robert Wilkins, John M'Connell, John 
JM'Carney, John Ray, John Jack, Jr., John Dickson, D. M'Clin- 
tock, Joseph Chambers and Joseph Long. 

The courts were held up stairs, and tradition says the crowd 
was so great as to strain the joists of the floor, causing great 
alarm to the Court and bar, and others in the house. Whether 
this tradition is true or false, I know not, but it is very proba- 
ble that the incident did occur. That the courts were held iu 
John Jack's house for several years, whilst the court house 
was being built, and vip until 1789, inclusive, is conclusively 
shown 1)y the following extracts from the count}^ expenditures, 
found in the annual accounts of the Commissioners for the 
years named, viz : 
1785. "By an order to John Jack for the use of his 

house to hold courts in, &c.," - - £12, 7s, 6d. 

1789, "B3' a draw given to Margaret Jack (John's 

widow) for the use of her house to hold 
courts in," ..-.-- 9, 

1790, "Order to Mrs. Jack for fire wood and candles 

for the court," - - - - - 4, 4, 5 

A change was then made, for in — 
1790, "An order was issued to Walter Beatty for 

preparing a 2')lcLce for court," - - 15,6 

Where this ^Dlace was I know not, but it was no doubt some 
temporary selection, Walter Beatty was the sub-contractor, 
under Captain Benjamin Chambers, for the building of the 
court house. The court housQand the old stone jail were then 
being built. The latter must have been gotten under roof at 
least in 1791, for that year the Commissioners paid Walter 
Beatty "for preparing for the court to sit in the jji-ison^ £15, 
19s." In 1792 they also paid Captain Benjamin Chambers, on 
the court house, £1,074, 10s. 3d. ; and that it was not finished 
in 1793 is shown by the fact that the Commissioners, by order 
of the court, paid that year to Walter Beatty, £10, 10s. "for 
detaining his hands from work on the court house." The 
Judges took possession and occupied the court house for 
county purposes before it was finished, and ordered Mr, Beatty 
to be paid for the lost time of his hands, as aforesaid. 



56 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



At the second session of our courts, on motion of John 
Clark, Esq., Robert Magaw, Thomas Hartley, James Hamil- 
ton, Thomas Duncan, Thomas Smith, Ross Thompson, Ralph 
Bowie, James Ross, James Riddle, Stephen Chambers and 
John M'Dowell were admitted to practice the law in the courts 
of this county. 

Our county courts, as thus constituted, continued to admin- 
ister justice until the adoption of the Constitution of lt90. 
That instrument went into force, for most purposes, on the 2d 
of September, 1790, but the third section of the schedule to 
it extended the commissions of the Justices of the Peace and 
Judges then in office until the first day of September, 1*791. 



JUSTICES WHO WERE JUDGES. 

The following list gives the names of the Justices of the 
Peace who were Judges of our county courts for this county, 
from the 9th of September, 1784, to the 2d of September, 1791, 
with the townships they were appointed from and the dates of 
their respective commissions, which ran for seven years : 



William M'Dowell, 
Humphre}^ Fullerton, 
Thomas Johnston, 
James Finley, 
Edward Crawford, Jr., 
James Chambers, 
George Matthews, 
John Rannels, 
Noah Abraham, 
John M'Clay, 
Richard Bard, 
Samuel Royer, 
John Scott, 
John Boggs, 
James Maxwell,* 
John Harring, 
John Andrew, 
John Martin, 
James Maxwell, 
William Henderson, 
James M'Calmont, 
Christian Oyster, 
Thomas Johnston, 



Peters, :N^ovember 13, 1778. 

Antrim, April 18, 1782. 

Antrim, April 18, 1782. 

Letterkenny, March 1, 1783. 
Chambersburg, September 11, 1784. 

Peters, September 17, 1784. 

Hamilton, February 4, 1785. 

Guilford, March 1, 1785. 

Fannett, October 31, 1785. 

Lurgan, November 2, 1785. 

Peters, March 15, 1786. 

Washington, March 27, 1786. 

Chambersburg, August 4, 1786. 

Chambei'sburg, August 4, 1786. 

Montgomery, August 26, 1786. 

Southampton, November 1, 1786. 

Guilford, April 16, 1787. 

Chambersburg, December 8, 1787. 

Montgomery, September 17, 1788. 

Greencastle, September 25, 1788. 

Letterkenny, September 23, 1789. 
Chambersburg, July 16, 1790. 

Antrim, September 29, 1790. 



*Commissioned President of the Courts. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



57 



JUDGES UNDER CONSTITUTION OF 1*190. 

By the second section of the act of the 1.3th of April, 1791^ 
the State was divided into ^fre judicial districts. The fourth 
district was composed of the counties of Cumberiand, Frank- 
lin, Bedford, Huntingdon and Mifflin. And the third section 
of the same act further provided that a President Judge, 
learned in the law, should be appointed by the Goveriior for 
each district, and not fewer than three nor more than four 
Associate Judges should be appointed for each county. They 
were each to hold during good behavior. 

On the nth of August, 1191, Governor Mifflin appointed 
the following persons Associate Judges of our courts, to hold 
from the first of September following, viz : 



James M'Dowell, 
James Maxwell, 
George Matthews, 
James M'Calmont, 



First Associate, 
Second " 
Third " 
Fourth " 



Peters, 
Montgomery, 
Hamilton, 
Letterkenn}^, 

On the 20th of August, 1791, Governor Mifflin also appoin- 
ted Thomas Smith, Esq., President Judge of this judicial dis- 
trict, who continued to serve in that position until his appoint- 
ment as an Associate Judge of the Supreme Court, on the 31st 
of January, 179-4. 

FIRST TAXES. 

The following is a statement of the first tax laid in this 
county, in 1785 : 



Districts. 


Collectors. 


State Tax. 


County Tax. 


Antrim 

Franklin 

Fannett 

Guilford 


Samuel M'CuUock 

William Shanon 

Nathaniel Paul 

Peter Fry 


£365 5s 
69 1 
179 4 
223 6 
207 7 
320 11 
298 
312 6 
272 10 
262 16 


7d. 

7 

8 

9 
10 

7 

5 

5 

1 
11 


£57 Is. 4d. 
11 19 11 
30 19 10 
36 8 2 


Hamilton 

Letterkenuj' 

Lurgan ....' 

Montgomery... . 
Peters 


William Dickson 

George Stinger 

Gavin Morrow 

Thomas Kennedy .... 
Hugh M'Kee 


3.3 7 8 
54 IS 9 

50 16 4 

51 7 4 
44 10 


Washington 


Frederick Foreman . . 


44 15 2 




£2,510 11 


10 


£418 4 6 



Being, for State purix)ses . . . 
for county purposes. 



$6,694 91 
1,115 27 



58 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FllANKLIN COUNTY. 



The following is a statement of the property assessed in 
this county in the year 1786 : 























03 




























— ' 


























oo 


S 










c3 
















,-^ 


i-H 




CO 




TOWNSniPS. 
















» 


§ 


O 




u 








C 

© 
O 
< 


O 

Ph 


o 
h3 


02 

o 


OS 

o 
O 


m 
> 


O 
5 


1^ 
± 




a, 
S 


i5 




1— 1 


cS 
IS 


Antrim 


30, 992 


£3 


37 


21 


435 


585 


50 


..27 


2 


Franklin 


1,153 


5 


96 


40 


84 


113 


20 


1 


1 










2 


Fannett 


19, 962 


2 10s. 






268 


366 


12 


4 


2 






9 


1 




Guilford 


21,335 


2 15 


t— 1 


r1 


275 


299 


13 


2 


2 


2 




7 






Hamilton 


22, 585 


2 10 


V 

^ 


a 


290 


356 


12 


6 








13 




i 


Letterkenny. . 


32, 917 


2 15 


^ 


343 


471 


22 


3 


6 




2 


6 




2 


Liurgan 


10, 526 


2 121^ 


< 


V 


164 


189 


6 


3 


1 


.. 


1 


3 






Montgomery. . 


24, 924 


3 


CD 
p. 


o 


491 


548 


46 


2 


2 


1 




18 




2 


Peters 


24, 839 
17,904 


3 

2 171^ 


< 


369 
20o 


455 
226 


30 
13 


3 

4 


4 
4 




•• 


"5 


1 


';[ 


Southampton, 




Washington.. . 


26, 483 


2 10 






400 


533 


3 


7 


7 


3 


1 
4 


8 
96 


2 


2 




3,324 


4,141 


227 


40 32 


13 



The tax levied upon this propertj^ was £2,368, 9s. 18d., 
equal to $6,315.96, distributed thus : 



Antrim, - 


£331 ITs. 


lid. 


or 


$885 08 


Franklin, 


92 8 


7 




246 48 


Fannett, - 


191 12 


11 




511 07 


Guilford, 


203 7 


7 




542 35 


Hamilton, 


212 8 


5 




566 47 


Letterkenny, 


290 8 


11 




774 54 


Lurgan, - 


111 6 







296 81 


Montgomery, 


2.56 17 


9 




685 04 


Peters, 


272 12 


2 




726 98 


Southampton, 


156 15 


5 




418 07 


Washington, 


248 13 







663 07 



£2,368 9 8 $6,315 96 
To-day, though there is no State tax upon real estate, the 
taxes paid by the people of this county are as follows, viz : 
For State purposes on money at interest, 

&c., $6,144 00 

For county purposes, . - - - 56,015 97 



$62,159 97 
From tax returns made in 1786 and 1788, for the township 
of Franklin^ which was made up of the town of Chambers- 
burg, and some seven tracts of land adjoining, I gather the 



1785. 


1788. 


96 


134 


40 


24 


98 


105 


115 


126 


6 


4 





1 


20 


18 


6 


6 





1 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 59 

following results, viz : That there were in the said township, 
in the said years — 

Improved lots, ... 

Unimproved lots, ... 

Horses, ..... 

Cows, - 

Oxen, ..... 
Bulls, .---.- 
Slaves, - - - - . 
Servants, ..... 
Chairs, . . . . . 

Physicians, Four, viz : Dr. Abraham Senseny, Dr. John Jack, 
Dr. George Clingan and Dr. Alexander Stewart. 

Attorneys, Three, viz : Andrew Dunlap, James Riddle, John 
Clark. 

Merchants, Four, viz : John Calhoun, Patrick Campbell, Sam- 
uel Purviance and Edward Fitzgerald. 

Justices and ex-offlcio Judges of the Courts, Four, viz : John 
Boggs, Edward Crawford, Jr., John Martin and 
John Scott. 

Inn Keepers, Twelve, viz : Hugh Gibbs, John Martin, William 
Morrow, Wm. Shannon, Jacob Yon Statinfelt, 
Benj. Swain, Fred'k Reimer, George Gressinger, 
Wm. Bevis, Wm. Cowan, Benj. Swain and John 
Caldwell. 
Estimating six persons to a dwelling, the population of 

Chambersburg in 1*786, should have been five hundred and 

seven tj'-six persons, and in 1788, eight hundred and four 

persons. 

The following lands were also assessed in the said township 

of Franklin in the years 1786 and 1788, showing conclusively 

that it embraced more territory than the mere plot of the town 

of Chambersburg, viz : 

' John Alexander, - - - - 194 acres. 

George Chambers, - - - - 58 " 

Benj. Chambers, Jr., - - - 105 " 

Joseph Chambers, .... 297 " 

James Chambers, - - - - 100 " 

John Kerr, 300 " 

Thomas M'Kean, .... 100 " 

1,154 acres. 



60 HISTORICAL SKETCU OP FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

CIIAMBEUSBURG IN 1784-8. 

Colonel Benjamin Chambers, as I have already stated, laid 
out Chambersburg in 1764. The town plot was entirely east 
of the creek and south of the Falling Spring. Third street, 
now the bed of the railroad, was its eastern limit, and did not 
extend further south than where Mr. James Logan resides. 
The lots south of that point were laid out by John Kerr, taken 
from his farm of three hundred acres, and for a long time that 
part of the place was called "Kerr's town." 

That part of our town north of the Falling Spring was laid 
out by Colonel Thomas Hartley, ofYork, in 1787. He purchased 
the land from Joseph Chambers, Esq., whose farm of near three 
hundred acres lay north and east of the town. Edward Craw- 
ford, Esq., also subsequently bought of Mr. Joseph Chambers, 
the land between the railroad and the eastern point, and Mar- 
ket and Queen streets, and laid it out into town lots. 

In 1791 Captain Benjamin Chambers, who had a farm of 
over one hundred acres along the west side of the Conocoche- 
ague creek, laid out that part of the town. 

Our town in those days, (say from 1784 to 1788) presented 
a very different appearance from what it now does, or from 
what it did before the great fire of 1 864. There were no bridges 
of any kind across the creek. The east bank of the stream 
through the town site, with the exceptions of a few places, was 
quite steep and covered with a forest of cedars, oaks and wal- 
nut, and a thick undergrowth of bushes. There was quite a 
depression between Market street and the hill upon which the 
Baptist church stands, and a number of fine springs of water 
issued out of the bank at various points, and poured their 
crystal treasures into the creek. 

West of the creek was the farm of Cap>tain Benjamin Cham- 
bers. The road from Strasburg and the north-western parts of 
the county came in on the same route it now does, but passed 
down to the "lower fording," at Sierer's factory, crossed the 
creek there and entered town by West Queen street. 

Main street was not then opened north of the Falling Spring. 
The ground between the spring and the present residence of 
James G. Elder, Esq., was a deep swamp. The road towards 
Carlisle and "the upper fording," at Heyser's paper mill, left 
Main street at King street, passed westward out King street 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 61 

to the Falling Spring, crossed it just east of where Mr. Mar- 
tin Ludwig lately resided, passed north and east along the 
west side of the spring over the old Indian burial ground, 
through the Presb}' terian church .yard, skirting the base of the 
hill on which the church stands, and connected with the road 
in front of the church. The prest3nt pike leading to Carlisle 
was not then made. Indeed, there was no road from this to 
Shippensburg east of the Conocochcague, or if there was such 
a road, it was a .very poor one, the crossing of the creek be- 
tween the two points being very difficult and dangerous. 
Most persons going to Shippensburg and points east went out 
the Strasburg road and branched off b}' the Row road. Mr 
George K. Harper, who came to our town between 1790 and 
1793, informed me that at that time Strasburg was a much more 
important point than Chambersburg ; that the mail for the 
north and east went from Chambersburg, hy way of Strasburg 
and that, because the transportation and travel over the moun- 
tains were done by horses alone, there was more life and en- 
ergy at Strasburg than at Chambersburg, as many as one hun- 
dred and fifty pack horses, loaded with merchandise, arriving 
or departing at a time. 

At the period of which I speak the streets of the town were 
nearly in the same condition as when laid out, although some 
twenty to twenty-four years had passed since their dedication 
to public use. Pavements were few and of the worst kind, 
made to suit the convenience or fanc}^ of the persons by whom 
they were constructed. The court house and the new jail were 
going up slowly. Immediatel}' around the '"Diamond" there 
were but few improvements. John Jack's stone house, in which 
the courts were held, was the best building in town. John Mar- 
tin, kept tavern in a low two-story log house, about twenty by 
twent3'-five feet in size, where Mrs. Watson resides. The lot 
where Ludwig's building now is was vacant, and remained so 
until 1795, when Stephen Rigler built the stone house on it so 
long^know as Noel's hotel. Hugh Gibb kept a tavern in a smaU 
two-story log house which stood where the National bank now 
stands. A small blacksmith shop stood where the Franklin 
County Bank now stands, and Samuel Lindsay owned and oc- 
cupied a small log house which stood on the lot the Reposi- 
tory hall now occupies. The other lots facing the Diamond 
were then unimproved. 



62 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

There were about one huuclred and thirty-five dwellings in 
the town, but as the whole population of the county had to 
come to Chanibersburg to vote, for several years after the or- 
ganization of the county, a liberal provision in the shape of 
taverns was made for its accommodation. In addition to those 
named already, Owen Aston kept a tavern in the Geo. Gcctt- 
man propert}', on the south-east corner of Main and King 
streets for a while and was succeeded by Jacob Von Statten- 
field ; Nicholas Snider, where the Montgomery hotel is ; Benj. 
Swain, where the late Rev. B. L. Schneck lived ; Wm. Morrow, 
where Peter Bruner now lives ; Thomas Shannon, where Cap- 
tain Jeffries lives ; Wm, Shannon, where the Union Hotel 
stands, George Graesing, where Mrs. Fold lives ; Wm. Thorn 
and Geo. Wills, opposite the Acadeni}', on east Queen street ; 
John Smith and David Fleming, at John Stevenson's old prop- 
erty, west Queen street ; Frederick Reamer, Heck's old prop- 
erty, south Main street ; William Bevis, on west side of south 
Main street, corner of the alley, in the house now belonging 
to Mrs. Byers. Besides these there were several others whose 
location I don't know witli certaint3\ 

POSTAL FACILITIES IN 1788. 

We have now the Cumberland Yalley railroad, running 
through our valley, from the Susquehanna to the Potomac, 
with branches and connecting roads to Dillsburg, South Moun- 
tain, Mont Alto, Mercersburg and Path Yalley at the Rich- 
mond furnace ; and we have daily postal communications with 
Pittsburg, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, 
Washington city and even points more distant, and also re- 
ceive, almost daily, the news of current events in Europe and 
Asia, and other more distant parts of the earth. But it was 
not so in the times of which I am now writing, as is evidenced 
by the following resolution passed by the Congress of the Uni- 
ted States on the 20th of May, 1788, viz : 

^''Resolved, That the Post Master General be and he is here- 
by directed to employ posts for the regular transportation of 
the mail between the city of Philadelphia and the town of 
Pittsburg, in the State of Pennsylvania, by the route of 
Lancaster, York town, Carlisle, Chambers' town and Bedford, 
and that the mail be dispatched once in each fortnight from the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 63 

said post offices, respectively." Journal of Congress, volume 
4, page Sn. 

It is remarkable tliat Harrisburg, the capitol city of our 
now great Commonwealth, is not even mentioned in this 
resolution ; and nothing that I know of so emphatically shows 
the progress we have made as a nation, in the past eighty- 
eight years, as the difference between the postal facilities con > 
templated by this resolve of Congress and the postal facilities 
we now enjo}'. 

From the Hon. James H. Marr, Acting P'irst Assistant 
Postmaster General, I learn that a post office was first es- 
tablished at Chambersburg on the first of June, 1T90. I had 
an idea that we had a post office here at a much earlier date. 
The settlement was then sixty years old ; the town had been 
in existence twenty-six years and the county nearly six years, 
and it is surprising to think that our ancestors did so long 
without governmental postal facilties. The same authority 
informs me that the following persons filled our post office in. 
the earlier years of its existence, viz : 

John Martin, ... - Appointed 1 June, 1790. 

Patrick Campbell, - - - - " 1 July, 1795. 

Jeremiah Mahon}', - - . " 1 January, 1796. 

John Brown. . . . . " 5 July. 1802. 

Jacob Dechert, - - - - " 7 April, 1818. 

John Findlay, - . - - " 20 March, 1829. 
William Gilmore, - - - "24 i^ov. 1838. 

I hope to be able to state hereafter when the several other 
post offices of our county were established. See title "Post 
offices in Franklin county." 

The Shippensburg j^ost office was first established 13th May, 
1790, but a few days before ours. Prior to these dates our 
j)eople had to depend upon private carriers to get their mail 
matter from older offices, or await the semi-monthly coming 
of the post rider referred to in the resolution of Congressjust 
given. 

FIRST ELECTION OF CONGRESSMEN. 

The Constitution of the United States went into operation 
on the first Wednesday of March, 1789. What number of 
the people of our State were then entitled to vote I know not ; 
but amongst the proceedings of the Supreme Executive 



64 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Council of Penusj'lvaiiia, under date of the 31st of December, 
1188, the returns of the election of members of Congress held 
just before, are given, from which it appears that but 15,774 
votes were polled in the whole State, and that the highest 
candidate upon the two tickets received the following number 
of votes respectivel}', viz : 

Fred'k Augustus Muhlenberg, of Montgomery, 8,707 
John Allison, of Franklin, 7,OG7 

NEWSrAPERS. 

From the organization of our county, in September, 1784, 
to July 14th, 1790, there was no newspaper published in 
Franklin county, and all the shei-iff's proclamations, notices 
of candidates for office, of real estate offered for sale, estrays, 
runawa}' negroes, desertions of bed and board by wives, &c., 
&c., were published in Tlie Carlisle Gazette and Repository of 
Knowledge^ printed at Carlisle, Cumberland county. 

It has been claimed that a paper called the Franklin Minerva 
was published at Chambersburg before the j^ear 1790 by Mr. 
Robert Harper. I doubt the truth of this claim. No copy 
of the paper now exists, by which to determine the doubt, but 
the fact that Sheriff Johnson, in July, 1790, published his 
proclamation in the Carlisle Gazette, shows almost to a demon- 
stration that there was no newspaper here about the beginning 
of June, 1790, when that proclamation was first inserted in 
the Carlisle Gazette. Again, I do not think that Robert Har- 
per was then here. An examination of the assessment lists 
of the count}^ shows that his name appears for the first time 
as a taxpayer in Franklin township (Chambersburg,) in the 
year 1794, so that it is most likelj^ he came here sometime in 
the previous 3^ear, perhaps about the time he formed the 
partnership with Mr. Davison, hereafter referred to. It is 
known that William Davison commenced the pxiblication of 
his paper at Chambersburg on the 14th of July, 1790, under 
the name of " The Western Advertiser and Chambersburg 
Weekly Newsxja.per,''^ and the assessment lists for 1791 con- 
tain his name as one of the taxpayers in Franklin township 
for that year. Mr. Davison afterwards, about the j^ear 1792 
or '93, formed a partnership with Mr. Harper, which con- 
tinued until the fall of 1793, when he died, and Mr. Harper 
became sole owner of the paper. On the 12th of September, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 65 

It 93, Mr. Harper changed the name of the paper to that of 
"■ Chamhershurg Gazette, ^^ under which title it was published 
until the 25th of April, 1*796, when he again changed its name 
to that of the '■''Franklin Repository^ It was, when first 
established, a small, three column concern, about ten by 
sixteen inches in size, and cost fifteen shillings per year. It 
was almost wholly made up of advertisements and extracts 
from foreign journals, for those were the days when Napoleon 
was stirring up the nations of the old world generally. 

In the year 1800 George Kenton Harper became the sole 
editor and proprietor of the Repository, and conducted it until 
January, 1840, when he sold out to Mr. Joseph Pritts. So 
indifferent were the post office arrangements for the carrying 
and delivering of newspapers from 1194 to 1828, that the Har- 
pers (Robert and George K.) employed their own "Post 
Riders," who once a week rode through large sections of the 
-county to ensure the certain and speedy delivery of the Re- 
pository at all points where it could not be sent through the 
mails. 

For much of the subsequent history of the Repository and 
other newspapers which were heretofore published in our 
county, I am indebted to an article written by B. M. Xead, 
Esq., and published in the Repository on the 2Tth of March, 
1872. 

"As above seen," says Mr. Nead, "Mr. Harper gave up the 
■control of '■The Franklin Repository'' to Mr. Pritts in the 
year 1840. Mr. Pritts served an apprenticeship and worked 
as a journeyman at the printing business in Cumberland, Ma- 
ryland, from which place he removed to Chambersburg about 
the year 1820. In 1823 he became the editor and proprietor 
■of a Democratic paper st^ded the ^Franklin Republican,'' 
started in 1808 by William Armour, who Avas followed in its 
editorship by John Hershberger, John MTarlaud and John 
Sloan, whose successor Mr. Pritts was. This paper Mr. Pritts 
continued to edit until the year 1828, when the anti-Masonic 
excitement arose. He then gave up the publication of the 
Franklin Republican, bought the Anti-Masonic Press, a paper 
which had been established by Mr. James Culbertson, and 
started a new paper, strongl}^ advocating anti-Masonic prin- 
ciples, under the name of ' The Anti-Masonic Whig.'' This 
paper Mr. Pritts continued to edit until the year 1840, when 
5 



66 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

he i^urchased the Repository froin Mr. Harper, and united the 
two papers under the name of the '' Rej)ository and WhigJ 
In 1840 Mr. Benjamin Oswald, of Kittanning, Pennsylvania^ 
was associated with Mr. Pritts in editing the paper, and in 
1841 Wm. R. Rankin, Esq., filled the same position. In 1842 
Wm. H. Downey bought Mr. Pritts' interest in the paper, and 
continued to publish it until 1846, when he sold out to Mr.. 
Wm. Brewster. Mr. Pritts continued about the office, as a 
general superintendent, adding weekly to its spiciness by his- 
wit and satire, until the year 1848, when he died. The paper 
was then in the hands of Messrs. John F. Denny, Hugh W, 
Reynolds and D. 0. Gehr. On the 1st of February, 1849, Mr. 
Reynolds withdrew, and the remaining partners carried on tlie 
paper until 1st of Ma}- of that 3'ear, when the}^ sold out to 
Messrs. John W. Boj'd, of Hagerstown, and David E. Stover, 
of Greencastle. 

"On the 4th of July, 1849, Messrs. Henry A. Mish and 
Lewis A. Shoemaker started a paper called '•The Franklin 
Intelligencer^^ and continued its publication until 1851, when 
it was purchased b}^ Stover & Boyd and merged in the Rejios- 
itory. In the spring of 1852 Mr. Stover became sole proprie- 
tor of the Repository^ and on the first of May of that year 
Col. A. K. M'Clure purchased a half interest in the paper, 
and in September following obtained the entire control of it.'^ 

" On the 4th of July, 1853, R. P. Ilazelet, who for some 
time had been issuing, semi-monthly, a ten by twelve adver- 
tising sheet, called ' TAe Om7i?6us,' began the publication of 
a paper called ^ The Transcript.'' In October, 1854, George 
Eyster & Co. became interested with Mr. Hazelet in the Tran- 
script, and continued to publish it until December, 1855, when 
they sold it to Washington Crooks & Co., who about the same 
time purchased the Repository from Col. M'Clure. They con- 
solidated the two papers under the name of the '■ Rep>ository 
and Transcript.'' A few years after the}^ sold out to G. H. 
Merkline & Co. About 1861, A. N. Rankin, one of the latter 
firm, got sole control of the paper. Soon after Snively Strick- 
ler, Esq., became proprietor, and in 186.S he sold it to A. K.. 
M'Clure and H. S. Stoner, who again changed the name to 
^The Franklin Repository.' 

"On the 19th of April, 1861, G. II. Merkline & Co. started 
the Semi-WeeJdy Dispjatch. It continued till June, 1863, wheiii 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OP FRANKLIN COUNTY, 07 

it was purchased by Messrs. M'Clure & Stoner, and merged 
in tlie Repository. On the 30th of July, 1864, the Rej^ository 
ofiice, and everything connected with it, Avas destroyed wlien 
our town was burnt by the Rebels. It was started again soon 
after in the lecture room of the Presbyterian churcli, from 
which it was issued till June, ISfiG, when it was removed to 
its present location. 

"On the 1st of July, 1865, 'The Repository Association' 
Avas formed, and the paper was issued under its auspices, with 
Messrs. M'Clure & Stoner as editors and publishers. On the 
30th of May, 1868, they retired, and Messrs. Jere Cook & S. 
W. Hays obtained control of it as editors and publishers. On 
the 1st of July, 1870, Mr. Hays retired and Mr, H. S, Stoner 
took his place, and the paper was published by Messrs. Cook 
& Stoner until the 15th of August, 1874, when it went into 
the hands of Major John M. Pomeroy, its present owner and 
editor. It has now reached the ripe old age of eighty-seven 
years. It is Republican in politics, and has a circulation of 
about 2,200." 

The first English Democratic paper that I have been able 
to hear of, published in our count}^, was called "TAe Franklin 
Republican,''^ and was started by William Armour about the 
year 180C. He was succeeded by Frederick Goeb, or Geib, 
and Richard White. The}' published two papers, one in Ger- 
man and one in English. The German part of the oflice was 
owned by Goeb, and White owned the English part. About 
the year 1808 John Hershberger bought these gentlemen out. 

About this time George K. Harper was publishing a Ger- 
man paper in the same office with the Repository., called '•^ Ber 
Redliche Registrator''^ — "The True Recorder." This paper 
Mr. Harper sold to F. W Schoepflin about the year 1814, who 
removed it from the Repjository office and conducted it as a 
Democratic paper until his death, in 1825, when it passed into 
the hands of Henr}^ Ruby, who had learned the printing busi- 
ness with Mr. Schoepflin. He published it until 1831, when 
he discontinued it, 

Mr, Hershberger conducted " The Franklin Republicans^ as 
the Democratic organ of the county, at the same time pub- 
lishing the German paper formerly issued by Mr, Goeb. After 
several years he sold both papers to Mr. James M'Farland, by 
whom the German paper was discontinued. Mr. M'Farland 



68 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

sold the '•'■ Repuhlicaii'''' to John Sloan, :\l)Out the year 1816, 
who continued to publish it until his death, in 1831. Sometime 
After Joseph Pritts married the widow of Mr. Sloan, and thus 
■obtained control of the j)rinting olHce. Mr. Pritts was then a 
atrong Democrat^ and greatly enlarged and improved the paper, 
and as a reward for his devotion to his party and its interests 
was appointed county treasurer for several years. 

In the year 1828 the anti-Masonic excitement reached its 
heigiit, and Mr. Pritts, being dissatisfied with the course of 
the Democratic party in relation to the United States Bank, 
and on other political questions, and being actuated by a dread 
of the pernicious influence of secret societies upon the future 
of the country, with large numbers of his former Democratic 
associates, joined the new party and purchased the '•''Anti-Ma- 
mnic Fress,^^ a paper which Mr. James Cull)ertson had shortly 
before established here. This paper Mr. I'ritts conducted for 
a short time, as only he could conduct a newspaper, in the 
interests of the anti-Masonic party, when he purchased the 
"'• Fraiiklin Repository''^ and consolidated the two papers. 

When Mr. Pritts ceased to publish the Republican as a Dem- 
"Ocratic paper the Democratic party were left without an organ 
in our county. But in the year 18.31, or thereabouts, Messrs. 
Henry Euby and James Maxwell started a new Democratic 
paper called " The Franklin Telegraph.'''' After publishing it 
for about six or seven years, they sold it to Messrs. Michael 
C. Brown and Hiram Kesey, who, in the year 1841, sold it to 
John Brand, who changed the name to " The Chamibershurg 
Times.'''' In 1843 he sold out to Franklin G. Maj-, who, in 
1845, associated Mr. Enos R. Powell with himself in the con- 
.duction of the paper. In 1848 Mr. May retired and Alfred 
H. Smith took his place, and the name of the paper was 
changed to '•'' The Cumherland Valley Sentinel.'^ In 1851 
Messrs. B. F. Nead and JohnD. Kinneard became the proprie- 
tors, with Joseph Nill, Esq., and afterAvards Dr. William H. 
Boyle, as editors. On the 1st of July, 1852, the paper passed 
into the hands of Messrs. John M. Cooper and Peter S. Dech- 
ert, and was merged into " The Valley Sjnrit^^^ which paper 
these gentlemen had removed from Shippensburg to Cham- 
Ijersburg about a year previously. In 185Y Messrs. Cooper & 
Dechert sold the paper to Messrs. George H. Mengel & Co., 



M ^'r^ 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. G9 

Dr. Boyle continuing as editor. In 18G0 Messrs. Mengel & 
Ripper became the owners, Dr. Boyle continuing as editor. 

In April, 1858, Messrs. R. P. Ilazelet and David A. Wertz 
started a paper called 'TAe Independent.'''' In 1859 they sold 
it to W. I. Cook and P. Dock Frey, who changed its name to 
" The Times.'''' Mr. Cook retired in a short time, and gave- 
l)lace to Mr. M. A. Foltz. In 1860 Messrs. Jacob Sellers and 
Wm. Kennedy became the owners of The Times, and pub- 
lished it as a Democratic paper. In 1862 Messrs. H. C. Key- 
ser and B. Y. Ilamsher purchased the Valley Spirit from 
Messrs. Ripper & Mengel, and shortly after Mr. Kennedy as- 
sociated himself and his paper with them, and the name of 
the paper was changed to that of '•''The Spirit and Times,'''' 
and published by B. Y. Ilamsher & Co. In 1863 Mr. Ken- 
nedy retired and the name of the paper was again changed to 
''The Valley Spirit:' In July, 186Y, J. M. Cooper & Co. 
again became the owners. In September, 186*7, it passed into 
the hands of Messrs. Augustus Duncan and Wm. S. Stenger,, 
who continued its publication until 1816, when they sold out 
to Mr. Joseph C. Clugston, the present jjroprietor. It is now 
edited by John M. Cooper, Esq., is Democratic in politics and 
has a circulation of 2,160. 

The following newspapers are now also being published in 
our county, viz. : 

The '•'•Public Ojnnion,^^ at Chambersburg. It was estab- 
lished in the year 1869 by its present editor and proprietor, 
Moses A. Foltz. It is Republican in politics, and has a cir- 
culation of about 1,*700. 

The '•'• llercershurg Journal," published at Mercersburg, is- 
owned and edited by M. J. Slick, Esq. It is neutral in poli- 
tics, and has a circulation of about 500. It was established 
in 1846. 

" The Village Record''' is published at Waynesboro', b}- W. 
Blair, who is editor and proprietor. It was established in 
1847, has a circulation of about 1,000, and is neutral in poli- 
tics. 

" The Valley Echo''' is published at Greencastle, by George 
E. Ilaller, editor and proprietor. It was established in 1867. 
has a circulation of about 500, and is neutral in politics. 

" The Keystone Gazette" is a new weekly paper, the publica- 
tion of which was commenced at Waynesboro', in our count}-,. 



To HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

fibout tlie 1st of Sc'pteml)er last, l)y Messrs. J. C. West & W. 
J. C. Jacobs, editors and proprietors. It is Democratic in 
politics and claims a circulation of about 500. 

The '"Saturday Local ^^ is a weekly newspaper recently 
started at Chambersburg, by Joseph Pomeroy & Co. It is 
neutral in politics. 

GENERAL WASHINGTON'S VISIT. 

On the first of October, ItD-t, President Washington left 
Philadelphia for the western part of this State, called thither 
by the troubles known in our history as the " Whisky Insur- 
rection." He was accompanied by General Henry Knox, the 
Secretary of War ; General Alexander Hamilton, Secretary 
of the Treasury; Hon. Richard Peters, Judge of the District 
Court of the United States for Pennsylvania; Mr. Dandridge, 
liis Private Secretary, and others of his official family. On 
Priday, the 4th of the month, the party reached Harrisburg, 
and on Saturday, the 5th, Carlisle, where a considerable part 
of the army was already assembled. The President remained 
at Carlisle until the 11th inst. During that time he had sev- 
eral interviews with the commissioners from the insurgents, 
who wished him to disband the army, assuring him that the peo- 
ple of the insurrectionary counties would obey the laws with- 
out marching the troops out there. He refused to accede to 
their request, yet he assured them that no violence would be 
done, that all that he desired was to have the people come 
back to their allegiance. 

On the morning of Saturda}', the 11th inst., the Presidential 
party left Carlisle and reached Chambersburg that evening. 
Whilst here they stopped with William Morrow, who kept a 
tavern in a stone house which stood on south Main street, on 
the lot recently owned by Dr. J. C. Richards, dec'd., now the 
property of Peter Bruner. The President and party went 
south from this, through Greencastle, to Williamsport, Mary- 
land, and from thence to Fort Cumberland ; but as they did 
not reach Williamsport until the evening of Monday, the 13th, 
the i^resumption is that the}' remained in our town over Sun- 
<lay, the 12th inst., as it is well known that President Wash- 
ington was ver}^ averse to doing any work on the Lord's Da}^, 
which could be avoided. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIX COUNTY. 71 

THE AYIIISKEY INSURRECTION. 

Tor three or four years prior to the date of President Wash- 
ington's visit to our town, the larger part of the people of 
the counties of Fayette, Alleghenj', Westmoreland and Wash- 
ton, in our State, had been in open rebellion against the gen- 
eral government, because of the United States excise tax 
iipon "whisk^-. The tax was original!}' only four pence per 
gallon, and was subsequently reduced below that sum. The 
people of that section of the State were mainly the descend- 
ants of Scotch-Irishmen, who hated the name and office of an 
exciseman. There were no temperance societies then in ex- 
istence, and to make and drink whisky was common, and was 
not regarded as disreputable by any one ; and the fame of 
their "Old Monongahela" Avas proverbial east and west. The 
onl}' surplus products of the people of that region were corn 
and rye, and it would not pay to transport them to the eastern 
markets by pack horses, the only means they had. A horse 
could carry but four bushels of rye over the miserable roads 
then in existence, but he could carry the product of twenty-four 
Ijushels in the shape of whisky. They therefore made whisk}^ 
everywhere. Almost ever}' farmer had his " still." They 
thought as they had cultivated their lands for years, at the 
peril of their lives every hour, and had fought the savages un- 
aided most of the time by the gOA'ernment, which gave them 
little protection, the}' had a right to do as they pleased with 
the surplus products of their labors. And so they made it 
into whisky, knowing that it could be easily shipped east to a 
market where it would find a ready sale. They denied the 
right of the government to tax it, refused to pay the tax, tar- 
red and feathered the tax collectors, and compelled them to 
resign their offices or leave the country. So wide spead was 
the opposition to the enforcement of the law, and so inflamed 
the state of the public mind, that it was found necessary to 
send a large body of troops out to the insurrectionar}' dis- 
tricts to bring the people to reason and obedience. 

The opposition to the enforcement of the excise laws was 
not confined exclusively to the people of the western counties 
of the State. There were many persons east of the mountains 
w^ho were very hostile to the excise laws, and who sympa- 
thized with the alleged grievances of their western friends 



72 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

and kinsmen. General James Chambers, in a letter from Lou- 
don Forge, to A. J. Dallas, Esq., Secretary of the Common- 
wealtli, under date of September 22d, 1794, says: "On the 
16th inst. I arrived in Chambersburg, and to nij^ great aston- 
ishment I found the Rabble had raised what the}' Caled a Li- 
berty pole. Some of the most active of the inhabitants Avas 
at the time absent, and upon the whole, perhaps, it was best, 
as matters has Since taken a violent change. When I came 
hear I found the magistrates had opposed the sitting of the 
pole up, to the utmost of their power, but was not Supported 
by the majority of the Cittyzens. They wished to have the 
Royators Subject to Law, and (Mr. Justice John Riddle, John 
Scott and Christian Oyster) the magistrates of this place in- 
formed me of their zealous wish to haA'e them brought to Jus- 
tice. I advised them to Call a meeting of the inhabitants of 
the town on the next morning, and we would have the matter 
opened to them, and Show the necessity of Soporting Govern- 
ment, Contrassed with the destruction of one of the best gov- 
ernments in the world." 

The meeting was held in the " Coorthous " — Mr. John Rid- 
dle delivered " a very animating address " to the people — Re- 
solves were passed and drawn up for the people to sign, pledg- 
ing them to support the Justices in their efforts " to bring the 
Royators to tryal," and General Chambers continues : " I am 
now happy to have in my power to request you, Sir, to inform 
his Excellenc}^, the Govenour, that these exertions has worked 
the desired Change. The magistrates has sent for the men, 
the very Same that Errected the pole, and I had the pleasure 
of Seeing them, on Saturday' Evening, Ciit it down ; and with 
the Same waggon that brought it into town, they were oblidgeed 
to draw the remains of it out of town again. The Circum- 
stance was mortifying, and they behaived ver^^ well. They 
seem very penetant, and no person offered them any insult. It 
has worked such a change. I believe we will be able Shortly 
to Send our Quota to Carlisle." 

. Liberty poles were also erected at Carlisle and other places, 
and the people everywhere in the eastern part of the State 
were very reluctant to turn out at the call of President Wash- 
ington against the "whisky boys," whose grievances they be- 
lieved, for the most part, to be well founded. Secretary Dal- 
las, in his report to the Senate, under date of September '0th, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 73 

1794, said: "According to the informational have received 
from several parts of the countiy, it appears that the militia 
are unwilling to march to quell the insurrection. The}^ say 
that they are ready to march against a foreign enemy, but not 
against the citizens of their own State." 

The troops called into the field under the requisition of 
President Washington, dated the Ttli of August, 1794. num- 
bered 12,950, and were from Virginia, Maryland, New Jerse}^ 
and Pennsylvania. Those from New Jersey and Pennsylvania 
assembled at Carlisle. Governor Thomas Mifflin, of Penn- 
sylvania, and Governor Richard Howell, of New Jersey, had 
command of the quotas of their respective States — met them 
there, and in company with President Washington reviewed 
them. The Pennsylvania troops were in one Division of 5,196 
men, under the command of Major General William Irvine. 
It was composed of three Brigades, the first commanded by 
Brigadier General Thomas Proctor, the second by Brigadier 
General Francis Murray, and the third by Brigadier General 
James Chambers, of our county. General Chambers' Brigade 
was composed of 1,7G2 men, 568 of whom were from Lancas- 
ter count}^, 550 from York count}', 363 from Cumberland 
county, and 281 from Franklin county. These troops passed 
through our county by way of Strasburg, from whence they 
crossed the mountains to Fort Lyttleton on their march to- 
Pittsburg, which place they reached in the month of November 
following. Happily the supremacy of the law, and the en- 
forcement of order, were secured by this display of power on 
part of the General Government, without firing a gun, and 
without any of the sufferings or losses incident to a state of 
actual war. On Tuesday, the 15th of November, 1794, the 
Pennsylvania troops left Pittsburg on their return home. 
They marched by way of Greensburg, Ligonier, Bedford, 
Sideling Hill, Fort Lyttleton, Strasburg and Shippensburg, to- 
Carlisle, where they were disbanded. 

POPULATION. 

An accurate enumeration recently made shows that accord- 
ing to the assessment lists for the year 1786, the taxables of 
our county numbered two thousand two hundred and ninety- 
one, divided among the several townships as follows, viz.: 



74 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRAXKLiy COUNTY. 





Free- 


Non-Free- 


Free- 






holders. 


holders. 


men. 


Total 


^Viitriin, 


1!)5 


83 


53 


331 


Franklin, 


•I!) 


8 


54 


101 


Fannett, 


Hi) 


55 


34 


208 


G nil ford, 


- 102 


38 


30 


170 


Hamilton, - 


145 


53 


3') 


237 


Letterkenn}', - 


- 151) 


47 


39 


245 


Liirgan, 


57 


24 


21 


102 


Montgomer}', - 


- 18(5 


55 


29 


220 


Peters, 


108 


72 


37 


217 


Sonthampton, 


80 


27 


27 


140 


AVashington, 


151 


00 


49 


200 



Totals, - 1,357 522 412 2,291 

TaxaLles and freemen in Franklin connt}?- in the year HSG,"^ 
two years after the formation of the county : 

In Antrim township, with its present Ijoundarics, including 
the town of Greencastle : 

John^Allison, William Allison, William Adams, John Al- 
lan, Samuel Archer, Dr. Robert Amln-use, Conrad Burner, 
Widow Bee, Hugh Barklc}', James Borland, James Brother- 
ton, Wm. Berryhill, Wm. Burk, Jacob Brumbaugh, George ) 
Brown, Jacob Bair, Wm. Beaty, Fred'k B3-ars, Sr., Fred'k 
Byars, Jr., Conrad Bush,Vames Brown, George Bartlebaugh, 
John Beatty, Henr3- Beast, Christ. Brandibarger, Jacob Brunk, 
Joseph Crunkelton, Hugh Curathers, John Crunkelton, Robt. 
Crunkelton, Sr., Robert Crunkelton, Jr., Sam'l Crunkelton, 
Wm. Cross, James Cross, George Clark, Thos. Clugston, Ga- 
briel Carijenter, Joseph Cook, Peter Coon, Christopher Crea- 
mer, James Crawford, Charles Cox, Robert Cooper, Michael 
Carey, Wm. Callahan, Leonard Crowbarger, Robert Clugston, 
John Downc}^, AVni. Downey, Sam'l Downey, Alex. Drybrough, 
Robt. Davison, Elias Davison, Dr. John Davison, John Davi- 
son, Joseph Davis, John Davis, (tailor,) Sam'l Duglas, James 
Dixon, Thos. Duglas, Wm. Downey, Abm. Derush, John Du- 
singberry, Adam Dickey, George Eldrich, Peter Elie, Cutlip 
Evert, Wm. Evert, John Erwin, George Eaker, Wm. Eaker, 
Abm. Elie, Humphrey Fullerton, Fred'k Fisher, Conrad Fish- 
er, Nich. Frye, Jas. Fleck, John Foy,^nenry Gordon,' George 
Gordon, Alex. Gordon, Hugh Gaff, Abm. Gabriel, Richard Ga- 
briel, John Gay, Jolm Gibson, John Gibson, (creek,) John 
Grindle, Jacob Gallady, Abm. Gansinger, John Greer, (ma- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. iO 

son,) Robt. Gibson, Dan'l Ilnolies, Jrveol) Harslibergcr, Widow 
Hanna, >Yidow Hart, Abm. Hull, (l)lack.smitli.) John Heaflcy, 
(merchant,) Francis Hiln-ick, Saml Hntcliison. Wm. Hender- 
son, (merchant,) John Haugh, (tailor.) Thos. Hutson, Henrjr 
Hoover. Nich. Hewit, David Howell, (tol)acconist,) Henderson 
k Wilkin, Jas. Johnston, John Johnston, Thos. Johnston, 
Esq., Dr. Robt. Johnston, Wm. Johnston, Robert Johnston, 
And'w Jack, Crissly King, John Keer, (weaver,) John Kirk, 
John Kennedy, Fred'k Kycher, Wm. Kiers, Rev'd James Lang, 
Rev'd Matthew Linn, John Lawrence, (merchant and inn 
keeper,) Ricli'd Laurence, (gunsmith.) Robt. Linn, (tailor.) 
James Long, David Long, Mich'l Lowman, Jacob Lowman, 
George Lowman, David Larimore, Joseph Lowrey, Evans 
Lewis, John Lowman, Jacob Leisure, Dan'l Lane, Dan'l Lin- 
baugh, (tailor.) AVm. M'Kee, Robert M'Culloch, (merchant.) 
Sam'l M'Culloch, Jacob Millar, James Moor, John Millar, 
Dan'l Millar, Henry Millar, Jas. M' Bride, John M'Laiighlin, 
Dan'l Mowan, Ludwiek Mowan, Patrick M'Entyre, Mary Mi- 
chal, (wid.,) James M'Lene, Dan'l M'Lene, Rich'd M'Lene, 
Hugh M'Kee, Jas. M'Roberts, Jas, M'Cormick, John M'Cor- 
mick, Jas. M'Clenahan, Widow M'Clenahan, Wm. M'Clellan, 
Robt. M'Clellan, Jas. M'Kelley, Alex. M'Cleary, Sam'l Moor, 
John Marshal, Pat. Maxwell, Jas. M'Entyre, Stephen MoAvan, 
Baltsher Mowan, Morris M'Graw, Leigh Masters, Henry Mor- 
row, (cooper,) Dan'l M'Can, Jas. M'Clain, Henry Millar, Hance 
Miller, Jr., John Mares, Lazarus M'Lean, John Xj-e, Sr., John 
Xye, Jr., Wm. Neal, Wm. Nesbit, Cutlip Xuts, (hatter,) Thos. 
Prather, (innkeeper,) Abm. Prather, (blacksmith,) Christ, Pi- 
per, John Porter, Joseph Paton, Robt. Paton, Henry Pawling, 
Jas. Poe, John Packman, (cooper,) Felty Pachel, (hatter,) Ja- 
cob Packsler, John Piper, Felt}^ Preman, Peter Poorman, 
(blacksmith,) John Paton, (miller,) Andrew Robison, James 
Roberts, James Rea, John Rinch, Wm. Rankin, Jalnes Rod- 
dy, And'w Reed, John Rule, Mat. Ryburn, Peter Remer, 
(shoemaker,) John Rodeman, (shoemaker.) John Rodgers, 
George Rumble, (blacksmith,) Wm. Reany, Wm. Rankin, 
Eml. Stotlar, Aln-aham Smith, John Scott, Wm. Scott, John 
Stoonkine, Jacob Stotler, John Stotler, Sam'l Smith, David 
Snider, (sadler,) Dr. Hemy Snivel}', Jacob Sayler, Patrick 
Sangerson, And'w Snivel}', Jos. Snively, Sam'l Stotler, (mil- 
ler,) Henry Sights, Crisley Snively, Henry Snively, Dr. Geo. 



76 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Stover, Gasper Stotler, Wm. Stover, Jr., Jacob Stover, Em'I 
Stover, Fred'k Summers, Henry Snively, Nich. Stuff, Henry 
Stall, Sr., Peter Shenlioltz, Widow Stitt, Henry Seerist, Philip 
Stiftey, Geo. Sharer, (blacksmith,) Ludwick Small, (shoema- 
ker,) Wm. Stever, Sr., Wm. Scott, Moses Thomson, Robert 
Thomson, Ricli'd Taylor, And'w Thomson, Thos. Tecy, (coop- 
er,) John Thomson, John Weerham, Peter Wolf, George Wal- 
lace, Christ. Weidner, Jacob Weidner, John AV^oods, Peter 
Whitmore, James Watson, (tanner,) Rich'd Wright, Wm. 
Woodman, Christopher Wise, Jas. Witherspoon, (joiner,) Jas. 
White, (weaver,) Adam Wilson, Jacob Weaver, Fred'k Wy- 
ble, Peter White, Jacob Winterbergcr, Jas. White, Alex. 
Young, (tailor,) John Youst, (wagon maker,) Jacob Zacharias, 
(sadler.) 

Freemen — Wm. Allison, Wm. Cook, Jeremiah Callahan, 
Jos. Crunkleton, (of Jno.,) Jos. Crunkleton, Jacob Crone, 
Wm. Downey, Sam'l Downey, John Ervin, James Gibson, 
Jacob Gallady, Joseph Grubb, (merchant,) Ab'm Gansinger, 
Sol. Hoover, Peter Hull, (shoemaker,) Jas, Johnson, Felty 
Killar, Dan'l Keek, (shoemaker,) James M'Clenahan, Robert 
M'Clellan, Wm. M'Clellan, Sam'l Moor, Dan'l M'Clene, Thos. 
M'Lene, Jno. M'Closkey, William Mintooth, John M'Cleary,- 
Jas. M'Lenahan, Hugh M'Intyre, Thos. M'Clain, George N3'e, 
Henry Pawling, Rob't Pattern, Abraham Prather, (black- 
smith,) John Rush, (weaver,) James Robinson, Dr. Adam 
Rankin, Jas Richey, (saddler,) Thomas Richey, (joiner,) Wm. 
Rule, Abraham Smith, Em'I Stotter, Sam'l Stotter, Stophel 
Sites, Sam'l Smith, Sam'l Stover, (tanner,) Henry Siecrist, 
Henry Strimb, Conrad Speer, Fred'k Summers, Robert Wil- 
kens, (merchant,) Cutlip Wisar, Andrew AVhite — 331. 

In FrankHn township, which included the town of Cham- 
bersburg, east of tlie Conococheaguc creek, and some ten or 
more tracts of land adjoining it : 

Joseph Allison, George Albert, John Alexander, Owen As- 
ton, Walter Beaty, Fred'k Bainor, Moses Barnet, John Bax- 
ter, John Brown, (merchant,) John Boggs, Rob't Bo^'d, John 
Burns Black, John Crouse, Wm. Davis, Moses Blackburn, 
Hugh Bigham, John Clark, Philip Crist, John Colhoon, (mer- 
chant,) Patrick Camjjbell, (merchant,) Edward Crawford, Esq., 
Ruhamah Colhoon, George Chambers, Wms. Chambers, Benj. 
Chambers, Joseph Chambers, Wm. Camion, Wm. Cowen, John 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FIIANKLIX COUN'TY. 77 

Caldwell, Ludwick Crauft, Dr. George Clingan, James Cham- 
bers, Alex, Duncan, George Dewalt, John Dixon, Peter Eabj,.. 
Kev'd Christopher Favour, Edward Fitzgarald, Thomas Fer- 
gison, Hugh Gibbs, George Grisinger, Samuel Galbreath, 
Henry Greenwalt, John Jack, Christian Kingrey, Philip 
Knopp, John Kirthpatrick, John Kerr, Henry Loutzahiser, 
Michael Lightner, Henry Molwich, Archibald M'Afee, Daniel 
M'Clintock, John Martin, John M'Conkey, Wm. Morrow, Mi- 
chael M'Nulty, Sam'l M'Cleland, Thos. Murry, Daniel M'Gre- 
gor, Thos. M'Clelon, Thos. M'Keen, John Noel, Christian Oys- 
ter, Sam'l Purvines, (merchant,) John Plumer, Wm. Richi- 
son, John Ra3"nolds, Esq., John Reed, Stephen Rigler, Arch'd 
Reed, Hugh Reed, Wm. Stinson, Robt. Shields, Michael Siss- 
ler, George Shellitoe, David Shots, Daniel Smith, Sam'l Snod- 
gress, Jacob Sigler, Moses Swan, Matthias Sitler, Wm. Shan- 
non, Thos. Shannon, Wm. Smith, Nich. Snider, Benj. Swain, 
John Scott, John Shitts, Zacharia Sugars, Jacob Shotts, Peter 
Shields, George Siglar, Dr. Abraham Senseny, Alex. Stuart, 
James Stuart, Elizabeth Thompson, Michael Trout, Wm, 
Thorn, Jeremiah Tolbert, (Talbott,) Conrad Waggoner, Christ- 
ian Wimer, Wm. AVallace, John Watts, James Welch, George 
Wills, Conrad Washingborger. 

Freemen — Fred'k Bettinger, Fred'k Benhart, Patrick Camp- 
ble, Sam'l Colhoon, \Thos. Clark/ James Corrance, Michael 
Carver, James Colgan, Edward Cramer, John Devabough, 
Andrew Dunlap, Esq., John Flatcher, Rich'd Henderson, John 
Hamel, Wm. Hailey, George Hood, Henry Houfman, Wm, 
Johnston, John Johnston, Wm. Kenneday, Benjamin Kurtz, 
James Lindsay, John M'Intyre, Hugh M'Clelon, James M'- 
Clelon, Joseph M'Clelon, Jacob M'Conke}', Peter Millar, Jas. 
Morrow, Matthew M'Cowan, Martin Moody, Peter Miller, 
Fred'k Pleacher, Jas. Peoples, Wm. Richardson, Stephen Rig- 
ler, James Riddle, PJsq., Fred'k Reed, James Smith, Daniel 
Smith, Wm, Smith, Dr. Alex. Stuart, Dr. Sam'l Smith, Rob- 
ert Snodgress, Thos, Stevenson, Jacob Santmire, Jacob Stil- 
linger, Filson Sadler, John Steel, Ross Thompson, Esq., Sam'l 
Thompson, George Trout, Wm. Tennant, Philip Trout — 161. 

In Fannet township, which then included the pi-esent town- 
ships of Fannet and Metal : 

Joshua Anderson, Robt, Anderson, Randle Alexander, James 
Ardre}', Dan'l Armstrong, Thos. Armstrong, Robert Alexan- 



78 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. . 

tier, Xoali Abraham. Joseph Adams, James Alexander, Rob- 
ert Armstrong, Patrick Alexander, Thos. Blair, Nath'l Bry- 
ans, James Brj^ans, George Buckliannon, Allen Brown, Widow | 
Baxter, John Bell, Thos. Barr, Sam'l Baker, Wm. Chambers 
& Bros., Sam'l Coulter, John Cami)bell, John Campbell, (crop- 
per,) Wm. Campbell, David Canipble, John M. Campble, 
And'w Campble, George Climer, Wm. Carley, Jacob Cham- 
bers, Callender, Patrick Davisoiif^ Daniel Duncan, Bar- 
nabas Doyle, George Delong, Felix Do^yle, Andrew Duglas, 
George Dixon, Edw'd Dougherty, John Elliott, (heirs,) John 
Elder, Jr., Robert Elder, David Elder, Sr., Robert Elder, Da- 
vid Elder, Jr., Wm. Elder, James Elder, Sam'l Elder, Wm. 
Elliott, Robert Elliott, Prances Elliott, Arch'd Elliott, James 
Ervine, George Ealey, James Pingerly, James Fairman, Alex. 
Fulton, James Fegan, Sam'l French, Wm. Gwyn, Isaac Gilford, 
James Gibson, John Gray, Samuel Gamble, Wm. Gibbs, John 
Holiday, Matthew Henderson, Henry Humbre}', Henderson 
Hervey, Andrew Hemphill, Thos. Hamilton, James Hervey, 
(weaver,) James Howe, Henry Hawkenberry, Jr., James Haw- 
kenberry, Philip Hutchison, Peter Hawkenberry, W"m. Hun- 
ter, Alex. Hopper, James Harvey, John Harmony, Henry Haw- 
kenberry, Sr., Henry Hagan, Gasper Hawkenberry, James 
Hunter, James Johnston, Thos. Johnston, Sam'l Ireland, John 
Jones, John Kenedy, Wm. Kelly, Edward Kell}'^, John Kea- 
sey, Joseph Kilgore, Robt. Kerr, Wm. Lauther, Jr., James 
Lauther, Robert Little, David Long, Sam'l Lattimore, Patrick 
M'Cormick, Joseph Moore, James Moore, Jr., Robt. M'Gwire, 
Wm. M'Intyre. Rich'd Morrow, Sam'l Mairs, Wm. Moore, 
And'w Millar, Robt. M'Cormick, John M'Clure, Dan'l M'Mul- 
lan, Wm. M'Cibbens, Enos M'Mullan, James Moore, Sr., Na- 
thaniel M'Call, Sam'l M'Call, Robt. M'Connell, John Mackey, 
Widow Mackey, John M'Clellan, John M'Clellon, James M'- 
Clatchey, James M'Connaughey, David M'Connaughey, Rob- 
ert M'Clatchey, John M'Crea, Cromwell M'Cavity, Wm. M'- 
Cain, Patrick M'Gee,Randle M'Donnald, Hugh M'Curday, Wm. 
M'Clellon, Sr., Wm. M'Clellon, Jr., John Mullan. John M'- 
Clane, John Noble, Sr., John Noble, Jr., Joseph Noble, Charles 
Newcom, David Neal, James Nealy, John Nilson, Richard 
Neagle, Nathaniel Paul, John Pacho, Alex. Potts. Adam Pi- 
per, Charles Querr}^, James Rea, Lodwick Ripple, Dennis Red- 
din, Joseph Shearer, Barnet Shutler, Elijah Sackett, Thos. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 79 

Shields, Robert Sample, Joseph Sackett, John Steel, ]5enj. 
Say, Wm. Taj'lor, John Simmons, Thos. Simmons, Henry Yar- 
ner, David Wakefield, Benj. Walker, Wm. Witherow, Sani'l 
Walker, James Walker, John Ward, William Warnoek, James 
Widne}'. / 

Freemen — James Alexander, John Bnekhannon, George 
Chambers, Sam'l Campble, John Duglas, John Davison, Wm. 
Darlington, Adam Ernholt, John Elder, Gal)riel Glenn, Wm. 
Gallaher, Jas. Ilervey, Jr., Wm. Hambleton, Wm. Ireland, 
Jeremiah Kilgore, Robert Little, xilex. Long, John M'Con- 
nanghey, John Mnllan, James Mairs, Hugh M'Clure, James 
M'Curda}-, James Moore, James O'Nail, Wm. Paul, John 
Potts, Alex. Potts, James Randies, Hugh Steel, Adam Scott^ 
John Witherow, James Wallace, William Ward, Joseph Wea- 
ver— 208. 

In Guilford township, having then about the same bound- 
aries as at present : 

David Adams, Capt. John Andrew, John Andrew, Sr., Wm.. 
Adams, John Acheson, Owen Aston, David Archibald, Peter 
J>ondbriek, Henrj^ Bondbrick, Matthias Brothers, Wm. Brother- 
ton, John Black, Daniel Bonbrick, George Bittinger, Robert 
Bigham, Daniel Bonbrick, Jr., Fred'k Bonbrick, Nicholas Bit- 
tinger, Walter Beatty, John Beard, Jacob Cover, (spring.) 
Jacob Cook, John Clugston, Andrew Cover, Ezekiel Chambers, 
Martin Cook, Adam Cook, Joseph Coughener, James Cow- 
ningham, Jacob Cover, Edward Crawford, Jr., Edward Craw- 
ford, Sr., John Crawford, John Calwell, Alex. Culbertson^ 
Henry Co^de, George Cook, Sr., George Cook, Jr.. John Croft, 
Arch'd Cashey, Jacob Coffer, Sam'l Drummon, Nicholas Ear- 
hart, Robert English, Peter Frey, Rob't Filson, John Fleck, 
Felty Gooshead, PhilipGooshead, Matthias Gift, Adam Gift, 
George Gift, Wm, Gass, Hugh Gil)bs, Bartholemy Haddon, 
John Harmony, Lodwick Harmony, Solomon Horner, John 
Harron, Jacob Hicks, George Helman,Dan'l Handman, George 
Hartsough, Matthew Hopkins, Albright Hickman, Adam Har- 
mony, Wm. Johnston, John Jack, George Kerriher, John 
Kerriher, Wm. Kirby, David Keller, And'w Kiser, Jacob Kel- 
ler, Ab'm Kovel, John Lindsay, James Lindsay, Fulton Lind- 
ay, George Lamb, Wm. Long, William Long, (spring,) Wm. 
Long, (road,) Mary Lindsay, Alex. M'Keever, John M'MuUan, 
Henry M'Clelon, David Martin, Jas. M'Farlin, Jas. M'Wil- 



80 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

liaiBS, J. M'Canne)', Mary M'Cormick, John Miller, James M'- 
Caskey, Wm. Nicholas, John Polk, James Patton, Daniel 
Poorman, Widow Packard, Henry Ralphsnj^der, John Ranfew, 
Wm. Ross, John Rannels, Esq., John Ralphsnyder, Michael 
Ralphsnyder, Thos. Sherlow, Nich. Snyder, Samuel Snodgress, 
Jacob Snyder, ' Gasper Slear, Henry Shitts, Peter Snyder, 
Philip Stumps, Adam Stumps, George Smith, Daniel Smith, 
Anthony Snyder, John Sheets, Fred'k Smith, Wm. Snodgress, 
Conrad Snyder, Matthew Sharp, John Thorn, Henry Thrall- 
man, John Thompson, Jacob Tritle, Wm. Vinlear, Elizabeth 
Vance, Wm. Wallace, Martin Wingert, Rob't Willson, John 
Wingart, Pierce AA^allacher, Jeremiah Warder, Samuel W. 
Walles, Michael Whitmore, Wm. Walles, Matthew Wilson, 
Martin Wingart, Conrad Wolfkill, James Young. 

Freemen — James Andrew, John Andrew, Allen Baxter, Len- 
nard Burkhamer, Joseph Crawford, James Druman, Robert 
Duncan, Jacob Hicks, Peter Harmoney, Alex. Jeffrej^s, John 
King, George Lamb, George Martin, James M'Cimm, Alex. 
M'Kinney, Adam Martin, Sam'l Ross, Peter Snyder, (smith,) 
Peter Smith, Henry Snyder, John Stumps, Isaac Smith, Peter 
Snyder, Henry Sheffer, Jacob Sheets, James Snodgrass, John 
Smith, Wmm^inleafpacob Wolfkill, John Wingert— 170. 

In Hamilton township, which then included the present 
township of Hamilton, that part of Chambersburg tvest of 
the Conoccoheague Creek, and that part of St. Thomas town- 
ship east of Campbell's run : 

Josiah Allen, Thos. Anderson, Wm. Archabald, Thos. Arm- 
strong, Joseph Armstrong, Robert Anderson, Lodwick Beats, 
Wm. Brotherton, Jas. Brotherton, Oliver Brown, Orban Bates, 
Wm. Bolton, John Brown, John Buzzard, John Bratton, 
Thomas Barnet, (heirs,) Wm. Barnet, David Barnet, Joseph 
Barnet, James Brown, Thos. Barren, John Breaker, Chas. Barr, 
Rich'd Benson, Benj. Chambers, Wms. Chambers, Jos. Cham- 
bers, Arch'd Carson, John Chesnut, Benj. Corathers, James 
Campble, Patrick Campble, Robert Cowan, Thos. Copeland, 
John Crevin, George Carver, John Custard, Martin Criter, 
Robert Cook, Joseph Caskey, John Campble, James Chambers, 
Robert Dixon, Wm. Dixon's heirs, Thomas Dougherty, John 
Dixon, Wm. Dixon, John Deeds, John Daniel, John Eaton, Jr., 
John Eaton, (heirs,) Joseph Eaton, Sr., Joseph Eatton, Dan'l 
Eckels, Adam Evert, Francis Ervin, Wm. Earry, James Elliott, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 81 

(heirs,) Win, Fergisou, John Prush, Henry Foster, James Fer- 
gison, Sam'l Fergison, Matthew Fergison, Jacob Frush, Dan'l 
Flemming, Abraham Fastpointer, Robert Gray, Gilbert Gra- 
ham, Francis Gardner, Joseph Grahams, Mark Gregor}'^, Felix 
Hart, ISTathan Hiland, Jas. Huston, John Hamilton, John 
Hacket, John Hindmau, James Hindman, Alex. Hill, Jas. 
Henr}^, Adam Hill, Jacob Holdiman, Ebenezer Henry, Robert 
Hoops, And'w Holms, John Hochison, Patrick Jack, Patrick 
Jack, Sam'l Jack, John Jack, John Jefery, Wm. Kelly, Jas. 
Kerr, Thos. Knox, Joseph Kirkpatrick, Wm. Kinaird, Thos. 
Kinkaid, John Kerr, John Kineaid, Adam Kasner, Wm. Kirby, 
Sam'l Ligget, Rob't Leper, Hugh Leary, Sr., Hugh Leary, Jr., 
Charles Lucans, John M'Gowan, Archb'd M'Cacharan, Jas. 
M'Farlin, Wm. Moorhead, Joseph Moorehead, Thos. Moore- 
head, Sam'l M'Cutchan, Chas. M'Cormick, Alex. M'Coy, David 
M'Clintock, Anthony M'Nutt, Christ. Miller, Alex. Mairs, 
Wm. M'Braj'er, David M'Brayer, James Moore, Sam'l Moor, 
And'w Marshel, Alex. M'Connal, Wm. M'Connal, John M'Lean, 
Wm. M'Cune, Math. M'Dowell, John W. Moor, Wm. M'Clelon, 
Joseph M'Murrey, Joseph M'Keymej^, Geo. Matthews, John 
Meek, Jas. Morton, Wm. Morrow, John Moore, Donuald M'Lean, 
Wm. M'Clure, Jas. Mitchell, Joseph M'Clelon, George M'Elroy, 
Alex. M'Cutchan, John M'Nutt, Robert Peoples, Rob't Patton, 
Sam'l Patton, Henry Phillips, Jas. Patteson, Jas. Paxton, 
Richard Peters, Robert Pilson, Jas. Piper, And'w Paxton, 
Wm. Richardson, Wm. Rannels, Benj^JRamse}", Thos. Ram- 
sey, Wm. Ramsey David Russel, James Rnssel, James Rea, 
Francis Robinson, Thos. Sherley, William Stuart, David 
Shields, Wm. Swan, Joseph Swan, Rob't Sloan, Leonard 
Stands, Rob't Sherley, William Stewart, Edw'd Shippey, Rob't 
Scott, Jas. Thorn, Wm. Temple^on, Joseph Thorn, Wm. Thomp- 
son, George Thompson, Wm. Thompson, Sam'l Thompson, 
John Thompson, John Tayler, Rob't Thompson, Thos. Tennent, 
Jeremiah Talbott, Jas. Warder, Wm. Withuej", John Willson, 
Elliott Williamson, Thos. Willson, John Wilkison, Wm. With- 
erow, Michael Willans, Andrew Walker, Conrad Yearman. 

Freemen — Philip Ashford, David Barnet, Joseph Barnet, 
Conrad Beats, Peter Braker, Henry Buzzard, Thomas Chest- 
nut, Wm. Coplan, James Dougherty, John Edwards, James " 

Glen, Wm. Hustan, Alex. Hill, Fergus Hill, — Grannan, 

6 



82 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Benj. Jefferies, John Liget, Wm. Moorhead, Dan'l M'Clintocky 
Jas. M'Kimm, David Moore, Hugh Murriartie, John Meek, 
David M'Roberts, Francis M'Minnon, Reese M'Thompson, 
Henry Omble, John Phillips, Henry Phillips, Hector Peoples, 
Andrew Paxton, John Quinn, John Ptamsey, Benj. Ramse}', 
Josejjh Russell, Wm. Seekets, John Thompson, Robert Yertue, 
John Walkison — 237. 

In Letterkenny township, which then embraced the present 
townships of Letterkenny and Greene : 

Alex. Allison, And'w Allison, Rob't Allison, Hugh Allison^ 
Jas. Allison, Jas. Anderson, Adam Break, Christley Brake, 
George Basor, Adam Burkholder, Peter Basor, Rob't Brother- 
ton, Wm. Bell, Sr., Wm. Bell, Jr., Peter Barnhart, Adam 
Burkholder, Jr., Matthias Booker, Jacob Barickstrasser, John 
Barr, Matthias Brindlej^, John Beard, Sr., John Baker, James 
Boj'd, Andrew Beard, Wm. Beard, Jr., John Beard, Jr., Wm. 
Beard, Jr., John Blair, John S. Beattj-, Thos. Boyd, Hugh 
Caldwell, (weaver,) Michael Crowberger, Robert Caldwell, 
James Caldwell, John Caldwell, Stephen Caldwell, John Col- 
smith, John Cramer, Alex. Culbertson, Adam Castle, Sam'L 
Culbertson, Capt. Joseph Culbertson, Robert Culbertson, 
John Craig, Jas. Caldwell, Sr., Jas. Cunningham, Charles 
Cummins, Jas. Clark, Joseph Clark, Robt. Cochran, Sam'l 
Cochran, Widow Cochran, Sam'l Culbertson, Sr., Jas. Culbert- 
son, Sam'l Culbertson, (creek,) Rev. John Craighead, John 
Culbertson, John Cessna, Wm. Cessna, Josias Crawford, Wil- 
liam Crawford, (heirs,) Christy Dice, John Dunlap, Wm. Davis, 
George Eaby, Jas. Endslow, George Earh^, Jas. Elliott, (heirs,) 
James Findlej", Esq., John Findley, John Fergison, Jas. Gil- 
leland, Jas. Gibson, Jeremiah Galvin, Henry Gruver, John 
Gant, Wm. Gibson, Ruben Gilaspy, George Grove, John Gra}', 
Abm. Grove, Abm. Grove, Jr., Christl}^ Grove, George Hand- 
spike, Philip Homel, John Henderson, Jas. Henderson, Peter 
Hoover, John Hoover, Sam'l Henry, Ludwick Houser, Mike 
Havlin, John Imble, Paul Imble, Thos. Jackson, Robt. Jacky 
(heirs,) Sam'l Jordan, David Jordan, John Johnston, Philip 
Keeser, Michael Kunole, John Kithcart, James Kelly, Wm. 
Kithpatrick, John Laffery, John Lindsay, John Lunders, 
Sam'l Lindsay, Conrad Loward, Robert Long, Jas. Lockard,. 
Jeremiah Lougher}^, Widow Lutes, Jas. M'Connel, Robert Mc- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 05 

Connel, Jas. Matthews, James M'Cammont, Jas. Moor, (weaver,) 
John Machan, Jr., John Machan, Sr., Robt. Mitchel, Jas. 
Michel, (Less.) Robert Machan, John Myers, John M'Cam- 
mont, Joseph Mitchel, Cutlip Maugh, Robert M'Cammy, John 
M'Cammy, Alex. M'Keen, Nath. Mitchal, Jesse Mitchel, John 
Neaves, Wm. Nicholson, Sam'l Nantier, Jacob Neaves, John 
Nilson, Sr., John Nillson, Jr., Leonard Fowinger, Jas. Patter- 
sou, Capt. Nicholas Patterson, Thos. Porter, Alex. Robison,, 
Wm. Robison, John Richey, Henry Rail, Wm. Rail, Jas. Reed, 
Darby Runy, Jacob R3^ard, George Radibuch, John Robison, 
Wm. Ra}', Sam'l Ra}', Sr., Christley Raisor, Abm. Reasor, 
Sam'l Reed, Jas. Stuart, George Stinger, Fredk Stump, Wm. 
Sharj), Jr., Wm. Sharp, (heirs,) Wintle Schirck, Henry Shearery 
Charles Stuart, Fredk Stake, Moses Scott, Francis Sanderson,. 
Joseph Stevinson, Adam Smith, Wm. Sharp, Sr., Joseph Shirk,. 
Matthew Shields, Matthew Sharp, Robert Shields, Hannah 
Sharp, George Snearly, Valentine Spangler, Jas. Tom, Albert 
Torrence, Henry Toops, Andrew Taylor, Wm. Torrance, Hugh. 
Torrance, Alex. Thompson, David Trooph, John Ward, Mary 
AV^ear}^, (widow.) Jas. Willson, Martin Winger, Wm. Wadill, 
Conrad Wolf, Andw Willson, Postle Weight, Hugh Wiley, 
(blacksmith.) Capt. Hugh Wiley, Thomas Wallace, Joseph. 
Whitmere, Jas. Walker, William Weir, Oliver Wallace, Rev\L 
Sam'l Wilson, Jacob Yos. 

Freemen. — Charles Allison, James Allison, Robert Brother- 
ton, John Butcher, John Brown, Adam Burkholder, Sam'l 
Culbertson, Christian Counts, David Cowan, Joseph Caldwell, 
Thos. Clark, John Clark, Hugh Fergison, John Findley, 
Ga15riel Gordon, Sam'l Henny, Daniel Lavery, John Lindsey, 
Thos. Lindsay, Balsar Lower, Joseph Mitchel, James McCam- 
mont, John M'Camey, Sam'l Nicholson, Thos. Patterson, Isaac 
Parker, Thos. Porter, George Pacer, John Reed, Wm. Reed, 
John Rea, Andrew Russell, Sam'l Rea, (tanner,) Moses Scott, 
(schoolmaster,) Wm. Shiphan,Wm. Stinger, Albert Torrance, 
Thos. Wear, John Ward— 245. 

In Lurgan township, having the same boundaries as at 
present : 

Benj, Alsworth, Peter Alport, Thos. Barr, Christopher 
Bower, Jas Cummins, John Campbell, Wm. Crossman, John 
Crookshanks, George Cripaugh, Michael Cripaugh, Andrew 



84 IIISTOniCAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIX COUNTY. 

Picke}', Kobt. Donovan, James Dunlap, Esq., Philip Foust, 
Francis Grimes, John Grimes, Wm. Gaston, David Harron, 
Fredk Iless, Philip Hollinger, Henry Humbrey, Wm. Hunter, 
ISlargaret Hemphill, John Johnston, Arch. Johnston, John 
Knox^ Henry Millar, Wm. Linn, Lodwick Long, Joseph M'Kib- 
ben, Arch. Mahan, Robert Miller, John Maclay, Esq Charles 
Maclay, Jr., James M'Kee, Alex. M'Cammont, Charles Ma- 
chiy, Ivobt. Morrow, Robt. M'Kane, Gawin Morrow, Sarah M'- 
Cormick, (widow,) Isaac Millar, Lettice M'Kibbens, (widow,) 
Andrew M'Ferran, Wra. M'Call, Wm. M'Knight, John 
]M 'Knight, Jr., Wm. M'Combs, Barnabas M'Laughlin, Andw. 
Murphy, Thos. M'Combs, Charles M'Granahan, Henry Mahan, 
.John Maclay, John M'Call, James Patterson, Thos. Pumroy, 
James Reid, Peter Ratts, Joseph Reed, Giles Reed, John 
Strain, Abel Seyoc, Harmon Shoeman, Thos, Snodgress, Barn- 
hart Sower, Anthony Shoemaker, Andrew Suber, John Shoe- 
^iian, Peter Sheerer, John Seyoc, George Stevenson, John 
Snider, Wm. Turner, John Thompson, John White, Abraham 
Weir, Sam'l Woodrow, George Wright, John Watson, George 
Winsel. 

Freemen. — Michael Brady, Wm. Bradie}', Dennis Centery, 
John Emer^^, James Gaston, Robert Huston, Joseph Kjde, 
George Martin, David Maclay, James M'Rorey, Joseph M'Kane, 
Wm. MagaAV, Jacob Porter, Thos. Reed, Andrew Ralston, 
John Shoeman, Philip Shoeman, Simon Shoeman, James 
Trimble, Sam'l Walker, George Weir — 102. 

In Montgomery township which had the same boundaries 
jis at present : 

Oliver Anderson, Ann Anderson, George Brown, Sarah 
Drown, David Brown, Jr., David Brown, Sr., Robert Baird, 
Jonathan Burgis, Joseph Bogal, Abraham Bulman, Thomas 
Ci-Uars, James Crawford, Sr., Matthew Campble, George Clark, 
Matthias Crow, Henry Cow, Jacob Cow, John Campbell, 
George Crawford, David Collins, John Cunningham, Andrew 
Clinesmith, James Crawford, Jr., George Cnst, William Dun- 
woody, Capt. Philip Davis, Wm. Duffield, (weaver,) Philip 
Davis, Wm. Dufiield, Sr,, Wm. Davidson, Catharine Davis, 
James Davis, Stephen Doyle, Andrew DixorijJol}^ Davis, 
James Davison, Jam^s-DoUgllerty, Samuel Da,vis, William Duf- 
iield, Jr,, Dfivis Dea; Thos, Edmistou, George. Elliott', Bc«j/ 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. »-> 

Eliot, Johnston Eliot, Hugh Foster, Andrew Flanigan, Charles 
Foster, Andrew Fryherger. Balsor Gull, John Guin, Jaco b 
Gons, John Gillis, Sam'l Gilaspy, Jacob Good, Robert Gor- 
"Hon^Peter Good, Nath'l Green, David Huston, David Ilum- 
phre}', John Hues, Adam Hardmau, John Hair, James Huston, 
Archibald Irwin, Kobt. Johnston, John Kenned}-, David Ken- 
nedy, Peter Horkey, Thos. Kenedy, Sam'l Kyle, Robert Kyle, 
James Kjde, Elisha Lewis, Adam Long, Courade Long, An- 
drew Long, Jacob Lear, Robert Lee, Catharine Long, Wm. 
Lamond, James Lamond, Alex. Lamond, John Lough, Wm. 
Lowry, John Lamond, Andrew Lewiston, Thos. Lucus, Hugh 
Long, John Long, James Maxwell, Esq., Wm. M'Coy, James 
M'Coy, Francis Mears, Capt. John M'Clelland, Alex. Miller 
Joseph Miller, James Miller, Sam'l M'Cune, Traxler Means 
Wm. Morrison, Rev. Thos. M'Pherrin, Fergus Moorhead 
Andrew Mease, Wm. Meanoch, John M'Faul, James M'Farlin 
Edward Mannon, John M'Carrol, Wm. Marshal, Alex. Martin 
Patrick M'CoUaugh, Andw. Morrison, Robt. Martin, Robt. 
M'Ke}^, David Meek, Patrick Maxwell, James Moore, Robert 
M'Cavin,JamesMorrow, Rebecca M'CamrQish, John M'Donald, 
George M'Cullough, Sam'l Martin, Wm. Martin, Patrick M'- 
iS^eal, John Martin, James M'Clain, Wm. M'Cune, George M'- 
Callan, Wm. Newell, John Orbison, John Parkhill, JohnPoster- 
baugh, George Posterbaugh, George Prits, Joseph Price, Henr^^ 
Plyly, James Ramsey, Joseph Rench, John Rench, Fred'k. 
Reaver, James Ross, Jacob Rush, James Rankin, Jr., James 
Rankin, Sr., Wm. Rankin, Jeremiah Rankin, John Rush, James. 
Robertson, Widow Reed, James Roddy, Cams Starret, John 
Shannon, Sam'l Scott, Sam'l Smith, Paul Shearer, John Shini- 
field, John Shearer, Peter Shearer, Robert Smith, Wm. Scott, 
John Scott, Henrj' Stall, Daniel Stutsman, John Smith, John 
Starret, Capt. William Smith, Joseph Shannon, James Scott,, 
Henry Snider, John Stull, Widow Shannon, Rev. Robert 
Smith, James Stewart, Peter Trough, Peter Trough, Jr., John 
Tilling, George linger, Conrad Unger, Joseph Yanleer, Jane 
White, (widow.) Matthew White, James Wra}', Alex. Wilson, 
Peter Whitesides, Owens Williams, John Work, Daniel Wray, 
John Wra}', Alex. Wray. 

Freemen. — John Brown, Thos. Clanej", John Collins, John 
Davis, John Darley, James Davison, Wm. Davis, George 



^ 



■86 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

3i^llot, David Ileiiclerson, Wm. Ilarwaj^, Jas. Innis, Jas. Irwin, 
Jas. Kelly, Beiij. Longhead, Wni. M'Donald, James Mays, 
James Maxwell, Esq., llngli M'Kilop, .Matthew Martin, Walter 
Maxwell, Peter Prough, Henry Pantlier, James Pteed, James 
^myley, Sam'l Smith, Josei)h Shannon, John Uliing, Joseph 
Vinlear, Robert Wray— 2-20. 

In Peters township, wiiich then embraced tlie present town- 
;ship of Peters, and that part of St. Thomas township west of 
Campbell's run : 

Thomas Adams, Robt. Anderson, Andrew Bigart, Alex, 
Brown, Sam'l Bigart, John Bigart, Peter Barncord, Jacob ]3arn- 
cord. Rev. John Black, Rich'd Brownson, John Bran, Abner 
Barnet, James Bigard, Richard Beard, Michael Clapsaddle, 
Benj. Chestnut, John Cocharon, Patrick Cavet, Gabriel Car- 
penter, James Carril, Hugh Cunningham, Thos. Creven, 
-John Cummins, Robei't Campbel, Andrew Gampble, James 
Chambers, Alex. Clendennin, Henry Chrisman, John Cun- 
ningham, Margret Cosner, Adam Cosner, James Campble, 
Wm. Campble, Thos. Campble, Patrick Campble, Patrick 
Campble, Jr., Thos. Dodson, Jas. Dunwoody, Jacob Dunkle, 
James Dunlap, Joseph Dunlap, James Diven, Wm. Dickey, 
Harmon Dyerman, Peter Dider, John Dickey, James Dickey, 
James Dieke}', Sr., Wm. Donaldson, John Esenter, Elias Flan- 
agan, Dan'l Foster, Sam'l Findley, John Farron, Christian 
Frel y, George Flanagan, Nicholas Firestones, Wm. ForsyW, 

/ Thos. Gordon, Gardner, Hugh Gibson, Jas.' Guthrey, 

Hugh Graliam, John Glaseo, Wm. Gettis, Donald Given, Alex. 
Hunter, Henry Helms, John Helms, Alex. Hutchinson, Row- 
ling Harris, John Highlands, James Handlin, Rudolph Hufford, 
John Hermon, Robert Hood, Adam Holaday, John Holaday, 
Wm. Hays, George Hunter, Jas. Hunter, Rowling Harris, Jr., 
■ James Irvin, Joseph Irvni, Jesse James, Rebecca irvin, 
Arch'd Irvin, James Irvin, Benjamin James, Benjamin 
Killpatrick, Alex. Kilkrish, Conrad Killion, Rev. John 
Xing, Albert Lucas, Thos. Lucas, David Larnd, James Lea- 
man, John Lee, Wm. Lemon, Jesse Lewis, Sam'l Lucas, Wm. 
Montgomery, John M'Dowel, James M'Dowel, Nathan M'- 
Dowel, Wm. M'Dowell, Jr., Robt. M'Farlin, Sam'l M'Guffin, 
Alex. M'Kilhatten, Sam'l M'Kilhatten, Jas. M'Clelland, Rob- 
-ert M'Afee, Robt. M'Clellin, Wm. M'Nutt, Hugh M'Kee, John 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 87 

^I'Calve}-, John M'Cny, William Meuani}', Roljt. Mimms, 
Hance iVrCullough. Jolin M'Cullough, Walter M'Kiiiuey, Wm. 
M'Clellon, John M'Kinney, Jas. M'Connel, Thos. M'Dowel, 
James M'Ceshin, Alex. M'Dowel, John M'Dowel, Sr., Wm. 
Mener, James M'Clelland, (forge,) Wm. M'Cowen, Sam'l M'- 

Cali, Wm. M'Gashlin, M'Clay, Enos M'Donnal, James 

Nox, Philip Nip, Yarner Nip, Robt. Newel, John Newel, 
Joshua Outly, Patrick O'Hanlon, John Over, Joseph Ogburn, 
Wm. Piper, Wm. Porter, James Parkhill, James Patton, Eliz- 
abeth Robison, Daii'l Reed, Mary Smith, Rebecca Scott, Josiah. 
Smith, Patrick Savage, Edward Stewart, John Smith, Andrew 
•Spence, Abm. Tetar, Walter Thompson, John Thorn, Alex. 
Templeton, John Torrance, John Ury, John Waggoner, David 
Witherspoon, John Willson, Isaac Willson, John Watts, Thos. 
Wason, Jas. W^iderow, Sam'l Walker, Edward Welch, Robt. 
Walker, Andrew Walker, John Walker, David Williams, John 
Williams, Robt. Wilson. 

Freemen. — Jas. Allison, Peter Barncord, Isaac Bard, Christ- 
ley Bottleman, John Brewster, John Burgh, Patrick Carvona, 
Wm. Cochran, James Campble, Nath'l Cocharon, John Dun- 
lap, Wm. Dickey, James Elgin, Peter Fegelman, Joseph Her- 
vey, Charles Hunter, John Hart, Jacob Highdiger, Hercules 
Johnston, George King, Oliver Kej^s, Wm. M'Kee, Alex. M'- 
Dowell, Jas. M'Dowell, Alex. Mehood, John Macafee, Peter 
M'Kinley, John M'Call, Wm. M'Nutt, Robert Newel, John 
Pollard, Chas. Piper, Andrew Speedy, Hugh Tussey, John 
Torrance, John Taylor, Robert Work — 217. 

In Southampton township with its present boundaries : 
Joseph Arbuckle, Samuel Blyth, John Blj^th, Lawrence 
Brindle, John Brackinridge, James Brackinridge, Sam'l Brack- 
inridge, Andrew Boyd, Barnet Barklow, Leonard Bough, Sam'l 
Brindle, Sam'l Crawford, Conrad Coynard, Thos. Cummins, 
Archibald Cambridge, Samuel Culbertson, Wm. Clark, The- 
opilis Cessna, Samuel Cox, Andrew Craig, John Culbertson, 
Peter Dick, James Diver, James Dun, Alex. Donald, Peter 
Dick, David Earl, Wm. Erwin, Joseph Findley, George Poust, 
Conrad Eishburn, Isaac Grier, Thos. Grier, Isaac Grier, Sr., 
Thos. Gilke^^, John Harron, Jas. Harron, Wm. Harron, Thos. 
Howard, Jacob Hoover, Philip Hoover, Burgit Hains, John 
Hains, Jacob Hammond, George Johnston, Benj. Johustoru 



88 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY, 

Michael Kero,CharlesKelley.Jacob Justice, Christopher Lance, 
John Lere, Thos. Lindsay, Caspar Lee,John M'Combs, Anthony 
Mowl, John Millar, Robt.M'Canlass, Wm. M'Cune, John Means, 
Sam'l M'Cune, Sam'l Montgomery, Thos. Millar, Mark M'Cord^ 
Wm. M'Cord, David M'Cright, Arch'd Mahan, Martin Mindle, 
Thos. Moor, Nicholas Mink, Michael Mink, Robt. Mahan, 
David Nevins, Joseph Phillips, Jas. Pimhro}-, Stephen Porter, 
James Pail, Robert Peoples, Mary Porter, (widow,) Thos. 
Paxton, Thomas Paxton, Sam'l Rippe}-, Wra. Rippey, John 
Rannelle, Esq., Widow Ross, James Randies, Wm. Rippey, 

Wm, Randies, (heirs,) M'Entire, (lieirs,) Mary Sterret, 

Robt. Shannon, Peter Shoaf, James Shoaf, Peter Shoaf, Jr., 
John Stoll, Jacob Sturapbaugh, Wm. Scott, Robt. Scott, Wm- 
Strain, James Stephens, James Smith, Peter Stumpbangh, 
Abm. Shaw, Lorrance Stumpaugh, Philip Stumpaiigh, Mat- 
thew Scott, Elizabeth Tate, George Unstedt, Thos. Welch, 
Wm. Wallace, Jeremiah Ward, James Wright, John Young, 
Wm. Young. 

Freemen. — Sam'l Blyth, John Cambridge, Peter Coons, 
Ludwick Cook, Wm. Dougherty, Sam'l Duncan, Fred'k Fish- 
burn, Hugh Fais, John Hoover, Wm. Harron, Sam'l Howard, 
Robert Justice, David Johnston, Moses Kirkpatrick, Lewis 
Lee, George Lee, Wm. Means, Wm. Martin, David M'Cord, 
Isaac Phillips, John Reynolds, Wm. Scott, Moses Scott, Sam'l 
Salsgaver, James Smith, Jos. Stall, John Stevens.— 140. 

In Washington township, which then included the present 
townships of Washington and Quincy : 

Stophel Adams, Peter Baker, David Burkit, Dewalt Bon- 
break, Wm. Blackley, David Baker, James Blackle}', Daniel 
Beashover, Elizabeth Bennidick, (widow,) Nicholas Beaver, 
Jacob Baker, John Baker, Philip Boarbaugh, Peter Baker, Sr,, 
Nicholas Bittinger, John Burns, Christian Breakner, Daniel 
Clapsaddle, John Cochran, Sr., John Cochran, Jr., Thomas 
Chambars, John Crooks, James Crooks, Michael Cook, George 
Cook, Christian Cofman, George Cofman, Henry Carroll, 
Jacob Cook, Gasper Ceese, Isaac Clark, Robt. Conningham, 
Casper Cline, James Downey, Peter Dull, Joseph Dull, Stophel 
Dull, Henry Dutch, David Dutch, Henry Dewalt, Elias Da- 
vison, Jacob Donneker, William Erwin. John Erwin, John 
Emmits, Adam Flohere. Peter Fox, Henry Fore, Fred'k Fore- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 89 

man, Sr., Abm Flora, Adam Fredrick, Fred'k ForeinaTi, Jr., 
Henry Flood, Jacob Fredrick, Christ. Foglar, Andw. Fridle}', 
Andw. Fridley, Jr., John Fnnk,^ Laurence Fotteral, John 
Gantz, John Gralf, Andw. Gribhard, Henry Gibharfc, Christian 
Grub. Albert Heffner, Jacob Holsinger, George Holsinger, 
John Hambleton, John Horner, Sr., Fred'k Howard, Elizabeth 
Helms, John Horner, Jr., Fred'k Horner, Abm, Hornei", Gasper 
Henline, Cornelius Henlin, Michael Helms, Jacob Hess, John 
Horn, Elias Horn, David Heffner, Daniel Helman, Sam'l Harsh- 
barger, George Helman, Jacob Hefner, Yal. Hefner, John 
Haslet, Jacob HoUinger, Martin Jacob, John Johnston, John 
Leap, David Lady, Peter Longanacer, John Long, Barnet Lick- 
hart, Conrad Loyd, John M'Coy, John M'CoUoch, James Moor- 
head, Jacob Mack, Wm. M'Crea, James M'Crea, John M'Clan- 
ahan, Daniel M'Co}', Matthew M'Farron, Henry Millar, Conrad 
Man, Jr., Conrad Man, Sr., Henry M'Farron, George Minner, 
Able Mensor, Joseph Mener, James Moore, John Miller, John 
M'Kissack, William Mack, James M'Anulty, John Murphy, 
George Mitsor, Patrick Money, Christian Miller, Alex. Mack, 
George MosAbock, David Mensor, John Miller, Sr., John 
Martspock, Martin Merkle, Jacob Netor, Peter Nipper, Abm. 
Nipper, Elizabeth Nipper, Peter Newcomber, Joseph Nicholas, 
Wm. Nicholas, Jacob Naugel, John Nicholas, Fred'k Nico- 
demus, Conrad Nicodemus, Jacob Ortenbarger, George Okkel, 
Jacob Pechtal, Peter Penner, Jacob Pissaker, Abm. Pissaker, 
John Parks, Jas. Parks, John Price, John Potter, Simon Potter, 
Adam Prits, Daniel Price, Robt. Price, John Ridlesberger, 
George Rock, Samuel Ro^'er, John Rock, Henry Rock, 
Fred'k Rock, Adam Richardson, Jacob Reed, Fred'k Sholly, 
Peter Stover, David Stoncr, Abraham Stoner, Jacob Shockey, 
Valentine Shockey, Jacob Swisher, Uly Snowbarger, Henry 
Shambennon, Solomon Seecrist, Andrew Snowbarger, Henry 
Snell, Ludwick Stull, John Scott, Herman Stultz, Mary Stoops, 
Simon String, Michael Stover, Samuel Sill, Matthias Summers, 
Peter Swope, John Still, Wm. Stitt, John Seecrist, Thos, 
Stoops, John Smith, Adam Smith, Sam'l Stitt, John Sell, Wm. 
Shaver, Henry Stoner, John Taylor, Thomas Wallas, John 
Wallas, Jas. Wishard, John Wishard, Edward Wishard, 
Casper Wagoner, Jacob Winterbarger, Conrad Warts, Caspar 



90 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Welch, John Wickel, Jacob Welty, James Watson, Philip 
Wagerman, Jacob Wagerman, Sam'l Willson, James Willson. 
Freemen — George Anderson, George Beaker, John Boggs, 
David Beasor, David Burket, Abm. Burket, Antony Beaver, 
William Blackley, Sam'l Burket, Wm. Crooks, Henry Coon, 
James Crooks, Peter Emmit, John Fridley, Daniel Heap, 
Jacob Helms, Daniel Horner, Dennice Joans, Philip Knop, 
George Ludwick, Henry Lady, John Lanchaster, James M'Co}^, 
James M'Colloch. John Menner, Isaac Millar, John M'Clana- 
han, James M'Cray, Wm M'Co}^, Peter Nipper, John Nichol- 
son, Wm. Nicholson, David Nipper, Peter Nipper, Jacob Price, 
David Parks, Daniel Ko^'er, Durst Snowberger, Jacob Stump, 
Jacob Summers, David Scott, Jas, Stoops, Wm. Scott, James 
Stitt, Abraham Shockey, John Thomas, Sam'l Thomas, An- 
drew Will, John Wallace— 260. 

An examination of the foregoing lists of taxables shows that 
they contain the names of many persons whose descendants are 
still among us, though their family names are differently spelled 
now. The spelling was done by the assessors of the various 
townships, and is therefore no satisfactory evidence that it was 
correctly done. 

In 1703 our taxables had increased to three thousand five 
hundred and sevent}' ; and our whole population has been as 
follows, viz : 

In 1790 15,655 

" 1800 19,638 

" 1810 23,173 

" 1820 - - 31,892 

" 1830 35,037 

" 1840 37,793 

" 1850 37,956 

" 1860 - - 42,126 

" 1870 45,365 

So that we have not quite tripled our population in the last 
eighty-six j^ears. 

GUBERNATORIAL ELECTIONS. 

The following statement of the votes cast in our county at 
several of the earlier elections for Governor may be of interest 
as showing the progress of the county in population : 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 91 





III 1790. 








Por Governor, 


Thomas Mifflin 


received 1,508 vo 


ites. 




Gen. Arthur St. Clair '' 


193 


u 


For Senator, 


Abraham Smith 


u 


985 


u 




Kobert Johnston 


u 


565 


u 


For Representatives 


, James Johnston 


u 


1,656 


i; 


(t-\vo elected) 


James M'Lene 


u 


1,564 


u 


For Slieritf, 


Henry Work 


u 


792 


u 




James Irwin 


(( 


554 


u 


For Coroner, 


George Clark 


u 


1,648 


t' 




George Stover 


u 


1,640 


u 


For Commissioner, 


James Poe 


u 


818 


a 




Daniel Ro3^er 


hi 


588 


u 




In lt90. 








For Governor, 


James Ross 


u 


1,413 


a 




Thomas M'Kean 


u 


992 


u 




In 1802. 








For Governor, 


Thomas M'Kean 


u 


1,368 


u 




James Ross 


(( 


686 


u 




In 1805. 








For Governor, 


Simon Snyder 


u 


1,369 


(( 




Thomas M'Kean 


u 


1,228 


u 


The election districts and vote at this 


laet election were as 


follows, viz. : 














Snyder. ^PKean. 


Cliambersburg, 


. - - 


895 


366 




Strasburg, - 


. 


- 310 


93 




Fannett, - 


. 


155 


40 




Metal, - 


- 


- 90 


33 




Mercersburg, 


. 


239 


310 




Greencastle, - 


. 


- 152 


152 




Wa^aiesboro, 


- 


28 


234 





TRANSPORTATION LAST CENTURY. 

There w^ere no turnpikes, no canals and no railroads in those 
days. All transportation of merchandise, such as groceries, 
iron, salt, &c., was, as already stated, by pack horses, from 
Winchester, Hagerstown, Chambersburg, and other points in 
the east, across the mountains to Bedford, Fort Cumberland, 
Ilanna's town, Pittsburg, and other points in the west. The 
people of all sections of the countr}', east and west, had long 
before this realized the fact that the pack horses of the day 



92 HISTORICAL SKETCH or franklin county. 

were not equal to the demands of the times in furnishing- 
transportation facilities. The ProA-^incial great roads, oi)enecl 
by Pennsylvania and Virginia for the use of General Brad- 
dock's army, from Loudon town and Winchester to Fort Cum- 
berland, were originally poorly and hastily constructed, had 
become much out of repair, and so far as the needs of Tenn- 
sylvania were concerned, were useless beyond the town of 
Bedford. Accordingly, attention was turned towards making 
better roads. Private citizens subscribed money for this pur- 
pose, many of the townships along the lines gave pecuniary 
aid, and in 1789 the first wagon that passed over the mountain 
barriers separating the east from the west, went from Ilagers- 
town, Maryland, to Brownsville, Pennsylvania. It was drawn 
by four horses, contained two thousand [)ounds of freight, and 
was near a month passing over the road, a distance of about 
one hundred and thirty miles. 

TURNPIKES. 

The first turnpike company incorporated in the State of 
Pennsylvania, was "The Philadelphia and Lancaster Com- 
pany," April 9tli, 1792. In a few years quite a number of 
others were incorporated, but it was not until about the years 
1814-'21, that the making of turnpikes seized hold upon the 
public mind. During those years the State became a large 
subscriber to the stock of various turnpike companies, I sup- 
pose because the Legislature thought that the public treasury 
should aid in the making of improvements designed for the 
public benefit. The Carlisle and Chambersburg road received 
nearly $100,000 from the State; the Chambersburg and Bed- 
ford road $175,000; and the Waynesboro', Greencastle and 
Mercersbui'g road al)oat $25,000. The State got but few, and 
very small dividends on these investments, and some twenty- 
five years ago these stocks were sold b}' the State Treasurer at 
the nominal prices of from lift}' cents to a dollar per share.. 
The roads, however, remain ; and in the days of wagoning and 
staging they were of vast use to the people, repayiug them an 
hundred fold the public moneys invested in their construction.. 

We have now eighty-eight miles of turnpike in our county^ 
viz. : Waynesboro', Greencastle and Mercersburg, forty -two 
miles ; Chambersburg and Bedford, nineteen miles ; (Miambers- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRAXKLIN COUNTY. 93 

burg and Carlisle, eleven miles ; Clianibersburg and Gottys- 
Ijurg-, nine miles ; Greencastle and Maryland line, five and a 
half miles ; and Waynesboro' and Maryland line, one and a 
Jialf miles. 

STAGE COACHES. 

Tlie first stage coach line from Clianibersburg to Pittsburg 
vras established in the year 1S04. Tiie doom of that mode of 
travel was sealed when the locomotive scaled the heights of 
the Alleghenies ; but in their day the old Concord coaches 
were the most speedy and most pleasant means of passing 
from the east to the west, and those who can remember will 
bear me out in saying that the arrival or departure of half a 
dozen coaches of the rival lines, with horns blowing, streamers 
flying, and horses on the full run, was one of the most in- 
spiring of scenes. It was witnessed about twice a day, at any 
time, in our good old town, some thirty years ago. 

RAILROADS. 

We have now three railroads in our county, viz. : The "Cum- 
berland Valley," which embraces the old "Franklin E-ailroad," 
and extends through the valley from Harrisburg to the Marj^- 
land line, a distance of about sixt3-eight miles; the "Mont 
Alto Railroad," twelve and thirty one-hundredths miles long; 
and the "Southern Pennsylvania Railwa}'," twent3^-one and 
four-tenths miles in length, making a total railroad mileage in 
the count}^ of about fifty-nine and thirty-four one-hundredths 
miles. The Cumberland Valley Railroad was incorporated in 
1831. Work was commenced upon it in 1835, and in August, 
1837, it was opened from Harrisburg to Carlisle, and in N'o- 
vember, 1837, to Chambersburg. Thomas G. M'Culloh, Esq., 
was its first President. Upon his resignation Hon. Frederick 
Watts, of Carlisle, succeeded him, and served for some twenty- 
five years. In 1850 the road was relaid with heavy T rails, at 
a cost of about $270,000. About the year 18G5 a consolidation 
with the Franklin Railroad was effected, whereby the Cumber- 
land Valley Railroad was extended to Hagerstown, Maryland. 
In 1873 Thomas B. Kennedy, Esq., of Chambersburg, suc- 
ceeded to the Presidency of the road, upon the resignation of 
Judge Watts. ,It now has a continuous line of road, 94 miles 



94 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

in length, from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Martinsburg, 
West Virginia, Avhilst the total length of the main line and its 
connections is one hundred and twenty-five miles. The Cum- 
berland Yallcy Kailroad is most substantiall3- built, with 
convenient and tasteful station-houses, clean and neat. cars, 
first-class engines and rolling stock, and accommodating and 
gentlemanly conductors and other employees; and there is no 
better constructed or better managed railroad in the Common- 
wealth than it is. The total cost of the road has been about 
$2,500,000 ; and its property is now worth fully $3,500,000. 

JUDICIAL DISTRICTS. 

By an act of Assembly passed the 24th of February, 1806, 
the State was divided into ten judicial districts, Adams, Cum- 
berland and Franklin counties being the ninth district. B}^ 
the 15th section of the same act the Associate Judges of the 
courts were reduced from ybt/r to tivo in each count}', as their 
commissions expired. On the first of March, 1806, Hon. James 
Hamilton, of Carlisle, one of the most distinguished lawyers 
of the State, was appointed President Judge of this district, 
and served until the 13th of March, 1819, when he died sud- 
denly at Gettj'sburg whilst holding coui-t. 

SUPREME COURT. 

By the act of the 11th of :\rarch, 1809, the Southern District 
of the Supreme Court, composed of the counties of Cumber- 
land, Franklin, Adams, Bedford and Himtiugdon, was created, 
the sessions to be held annually at Chambersburg. This act 
was repealed and the district abolished by the act of the 14th 
of April, 1834, reorganizing the Supreme Court, but during 
the intervening twentj'-five years, the Supreme Court sat 
annually in our old court house, and Chief Justices Tilghman 
and Gibson, and Justices Yeates, Breckenridge, Duncan, 
Huston, Pvogers, Tod, Smith, Boss, Kennedy and Sergeant, 
delivered there some of the ablest and most important judicial 
opinions to be found in our State Reports. 

BANKS. 

The first bank estalilished in our county was started in the 
year 1809, under "Articlevai of Association," with a capital of 
$250,000, in two thousand five hundred shares of $100 each. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 95 

It "Was called the "Chambersburg Bank," and was simply a 
private organization, receiving deposits and discounting notes, 
drafts, &c. Edward Crawford was President and Alexander 
Calhoun, Cashier, and the following persons were the first 
Board of Directors, viz. : John Calhoun, Mathias Maris, John 
Hollida}', Jacob Whitmore, John Shryock, Wm. M. Brown, 
Jacob Ileyser, Patrick Campbell, (of Peters.) Peter Eberly 
and James Kiddle. It continued to do business under these 
articles of association until the 3- ear 1814, when it was merged 
into the "Bank of Chambersburg," under the Omnibus act of 
that 3"ear, next referred to. 

On the 21st of March, 1813, an act was passed by the Legis- 
lature, "Regulating Banks," which divided the State into 
twent>--seven districts and provided for the creation of forty- 
one new banks, with a capital of over $17,000,000. It gave 
the county of Franklin two banks, one to be called the "Bank 
of Chambersburg," with a capital of $600,000, the other "The 
Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank of Greencastle," with a capital 
of $250,000 Governor Snyder vetoed the bill, but at the next 
session, on the 21st of March, 1814, it was "logrolled" through, 
notwithstanding the veto. 

The "Bank of Chambersburg," now the "National Bank of 
Chambersburg," has been in full operation ever since, and de- 
servedly ranks as one of the best conducted and most reliable 
banking institutions in the State. 

"The Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank of Greencastle" was 
duly organized under its charter of 1814, but from some causes 
now unknown, soon got into trouble, and about the year 1818 
failed most disastrously, entailing financial trouble and ruin 
upon almost every person connected with it. 

In addition to the National Bank of Chambersburg, which 
has a capital of $260,000, we have now in operation in this 
county, the National Bank of Greencastle, with a capital of 
$100,000 ; the National Bank of Waynesboro', capital $75,000 ; 
the Franklin County Bank, at Chambersburg, with a capital 
of $65,000 ; and the Farmers' Bank of Mercersburg, with a 
capital of some $20,000. The last two are banks of discount 
and deposit alone, owned b}^ individuals. 



QQ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FBANKLIN COUNTY. 

WATER WORKS. 

About the year 1818 the first attempt was made to introduce 
water into our town. It was taken from the Falling Spring, 
about a half mile east of the railroad bridge, beiaig forced 
thence to the reservoir (which was where the dwelling of Samuel 
Myers now is) by the power of the sti-eam acting upon the 
buckets of a large water wheel placed in the current. The 
pipes extended through Market street to Franldin, a short way 
on Second street, and ou Main street from King street to 
German. There were no fire plugs — nothing but hydrants for 
family use — and the reservoir being small, the works were 
wholly useless in times of fire. The pipes soon rotted out, and 
by the year 1823 the whole thing was abandoned. Being very 
primitive in all their appointments, these works could not have 
been very expensive, although some of our old citizens say 
that they cost about forty thousand dollars. 

Our present excellent water works are the property of the 
borough, constructed through the energy of our Town Council. 
They are said to be well built, and reflect great credit upon all 
connected with their erection. Their total cost is about fifty- 
five thousand dollars. 

MANUFACTURE OF TAPER. 

Dr. Lewis 11. Gerrard in his sketch of " Chambersburg in 
the Colony and the Revolution," says that Dr. John Calhoun 
started here, in 1786, the first paper mill in this valley, if not 
in the western country. It is not belieA''ed that he carried ou 
the business for any great length of time. 

It is known, however, that the manufacture of writing and 
printing paper was carried on at Chamltersburg, or Chambers' 
town, as it was then called, by John Scott & Co., in September, 
1788, and for about eight j^ears thereafter the newspapers at 
Pittsburg, and west of the mountains generally, were supplied 
from this point. On the 28th of June, 1788, Col. Benjamin 
Chambers and Sarah his wife, for the consideration ot £lb specie, 
conveyed to John Scott, John Calhoun, Samuel Purviance and 
Dr. George Clingan, a plot of ground 40 by 90 feet — the same 
ground the present woolen mill stands upon, for the sole and 
exclusive purpose of building a paper factory thereon. It was 
upon this ground that John Scott & Co., erected their paper 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 97 

-mill. The paper was trausported upon pack horses, hundreds 
of which could at any time, as late as It 96, be found loading 
with merchandise at Strasburg, Loudon, Mercersburg and 
Chambersburg, for the western country. 

STRAW PAPER. 

Straw paper was manufactured at Chambersburg as early as 
1831, by George A. Shryock and Dr. Samuel D. Culbertson. 
It never got into general use in the mercantile community, 
being too brittle for wrapping ; but in the shape of binders' 
boards, and in other styles of manufacture, it met with large 
sales, and proved ver^' remunerative to those engaged in the 
Inisiness. In the shape of "binders' boards" alone the trade 
has become very large indeed. 

Mr. George A. Shryock, now deceased, in an article pub- 
lished by him in 1866, says : "Colonel William Magaw, of 
Meadville, Pa.," (who was a cousin of Mr. Shryock) "was ex- 
tensivel}^ engaged in the manufacture of potash in 1827-28. 
His ash hoppers were lined with long straw before the ashes 
were introduced, Magaw was in the habit of chewing the 
straw taken from the hoppers and pressing it in his hands, 
and he thus discovered that it produced a substance united and 
Jibrous, closely resembling the pulp out of which the ordinary 
wrapping paper is made. He concluded that the material was 
adapted to the manufacture of paper. As I was at that time 
engaged in the manufacture of rag paper l)y the old method, 
at Ilollywell Paper Mill, one and a half miles south of Cham- 
bersburg, Magaw wrote to me on the subject of his discovery. 
I encouraged him to visit Chambersburg, in July or August, 
1829, to fairly test the matter at Hollywcll Paper Mill. The 
experiment was, at that time and place, made and proved a 
decided success. I was so well satisfied of its practicability 
that I bought a large cast iron kettle of John V. Kelly, in 
Chambersburg, cribbed it Avith Avood staves so that I could 
boil from seven hundred to one thousand pounds straw at one 
filling, and made, for some weeks, from twenty to thirty reams 
per day. 

" The material used at that time in the preparation of the 
straw was potash, exclusively. I abandoned the manufacture 
of rag paper, and devoted my mill exclusively to the manufac- 
^ 1 



98 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

tiire of straw paper for some months. In Xovember, 1829, I 
visited the East to see a cylinder machine tlien in operation in 
Springfield, Massachusetts, by Messrs. Ames. On m^^ way I 
accidentally met with Mr. Lafflin, of Lee, Massachusetts, at 
Hays' Pearl Street House, New York, and engaged him to 
build for me a small cylinder machine, at Ilollywell Paper 
Mill, near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. This icas ceiiainhj 
the fird machine (hat ever operated on that material. Within 
the first year I introduced the grooved wood roll for the man- 
ufacture of binders' and box boards, &c. These two manutac- 
tures were (as far as has been ascertained) the very first use 
of straw paper as a staple article in our world." 

In 1831 Dr. S. D. Culbertson, Reed Washington, Alexander 
Calhoun and George A. Shryock formed a partnership under the 
name of G. A. Shr3'ock & Co., and bought from Thos. G. M'- 
CuUoh, Esq., executor of the estate of Samuel Purviance, the 
property' at the confluence of the Falling Spring and the Cono- 
cocheague creek, and built the paper mill which formerly 
stood on the site of the present woolen mill. It was 150 by 50 
feet in size, and five stories high, had one hundred and two 
miles of drying poles, and seventeen dry presses in it, and had 
ever}^ facilit}^ for the manufacture of boards and paper. 

COMMON SCHOOLS. 

By the Constitutions of 1176 and 1190 (each) it was provided 
that a system of Public Free Schools should be founded in 
each count}', for the instruction of the poor ; and this was 
done by the public paying those who kept i^rit-ate pa.j/ schools 
to instruct the indigent poor who were sent to them. It was 
not, however, until about the year 1836 (or forty j-ears ago) 
that the i^resent magnificent Common School system of our 
State was established. At first it Avas bitterly opposed in 
many parts of the Commonwealth, and many years elapsed 
before it was generally adopted. In our county there were 
last year two hundred and fifty-four schools, kept open an 
average of six months, having in them one hundred and ninety 
male, and sevent^'-two female teachers. The number of male 
scholars in these schools was six thousand three hundred and 
seven, and of females five thousand two hundred and twenty- 
eight. The total receipts were $86,860.42, and the expenditures 



HISTORICAL SKETCU OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 99 

$82,623.45, of which $49,098.47 were applied to the payment 
of teachers' salaries, and the balance to other expenses. 

By the thirty-ninth section of the act of the 8th of May,, 
1854, it was provided that the School Directors of the several 
counties of the State shall meet in convention on the first 
Monday of June then next following, and on the first Monday 
of May in each third year thereafter, and select, viva voce, hy 
a majority of the whole number of directors present, one- 
person of literary and scientific acquirements, and of skill and 
experience in the art of teaching, as County Superintendent- 
of Common Schools for three succeeding school years. And 
by the forty-first section of the same act it was made the duty 
of such Superintendents "to examine all the candidates for the- 
profession of teacher, in the presence of the board of direc^tors^ 
or controllers, if tliey desire to be present — and to give each, 
person found qualified a certificate, setting forth the branches 
of learning he or she is capable of teaching." 

Before the adoption of the Common School system, which-, 
was made general by the act of the 8th of Ma}^, 1854, no- 
examination was required of those who were applicants for 
positions as teachers. Examinations, if made at all, were 
made by the directors, or by persons selected by them. A. 
marked improvement soon became perceptible in the qualifica- 
tions of teachers, after the more thorough methods of exami- 
nation were put into operation by the County Superintendents., 
and it cannot be denied that the change thus introduced has 
been of much advantage by securing a more thorough super- 
vision of the schools, and by increasing the qualifications of 
the teacliers themselves. 

Superiyitendent — H. S. Eby. 

DIRECTORS AND TEACHERS, 1877-78. 
ANTRIM TOWNSHIP. 

Directors. — John Mann, John Gorman, Columbus C. Pentzr. 
Jonathan Jacoby, Humphrey Gordon. James W. M'Clear}'. 

Teachers.— \N . L. Omwake, J. S. Smith, J. Weagley, G. H, 
Cook, G. H. Carbaugh, D. S. Eager, S. M. Hicks, D. Barnhart^ 
M. P. M irtin, W. Stine, J. Shuman, D. L. Grove, C. H. Rich- 
ards, Miss Mary AUeman, Hadessah Stoufter, G. W. Atherton,. 
J. P. Stover, .f. W. Kuhn, J. C. Hassler, B. F. Snider, T. H. 



100 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Weagley, L. Allemaii, C. A. Knlm, J. II. Rutliriinff, 11. T. 
Banihart, J. G. Schalf, Joshua Skegs> 

BOROUGH OF GREENCASTLE. 

DirecLorH. — John Wilhelm, William Snyder, Dr. James K. 
Davidson, L. H. Fletcher, Lewis Gantner, J. A. Davison. 

Teachers. — G. W. Baughman, Mrs. M. K. Detrich, William 
A. Ileid, Misses Lottie Fcldman and Beckie Laughlin. 

FANNETT TOWNSHIP. 

Directors — Keifer llosenberr}^ James W. llollida}', William 
;Stake, William Bigler, William Shetler, Daniel Stewart. 

Teachers. — John P. Shearer, Wm. A. Grouse, James S. Craig, 
Daniel B. Shields, Samuel Robertson, James Ilarkins, Vincent 
JM'Kim, W. D. M'Gowan, M. S. Taylor, 0. F. Jones, John 
Pomeroy, Misses Mintie Alexander, Emma Shearer, Beckie 
Shearer and Lizzie C. Shearer. 

GREENE TOWNSHIP. 

Directors. — J. B. White, Uriah Bollinger, Henry Slichter, 
John Lehman, Jacob Bittinger, Newton Horner. 

Teachers.— L. J. Wolf, J. W. DeHaven, J. C. Brown, D. W- 
Sollenberger, D. A. Flora, B. H. Ochre, C. S. Barr, Elias Hall, 
J. S. Winger t, H. A. Bitner, A. B. Sehively, W. Kekler, T. W. 
Cashman, S. N. Walters, A. R. Dice, 0. C. Hamsher, H. S. 
.Shade, J. B. Long,- Miss A. E. Etter. 

GUILFORD TOWNSHIP. 

^Directors. — Wm. Ferguson, John Duffield, Charles Thomp- 
■son, Benj. Lehman, George Stever, Samuel S. Led3\ 

Teachers.— John AVolfkill, John B. Hege, J. W. Funk, W. 
M. Olliver, J. A. Miller, T. G. Zarcher, W. A. Bender, C. A. 
Baker, J. SoUenborger, Thomas Gilland, D. Heysinger, A. R. 
Dornberger, J. A. Dysart, J. H. Shank, W. H. Swigert, A. S. 
Maxwell, F. T. Snyder, C. W. Thompson, G. P. Duffield, C. C. 
Funk, H. L. M'Elhenny, J. B. Wingert, J. A. Ward. 

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP. 

Directors. — George Palmer, Andrew Bard, Samuel S. Reisher, 
Jeremiah Mish, George Grove, Frederick Dice. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 101 

Teachers. — R. A. Moore, David Ward, David Raff, Miss S. 
E. Over, J. B. Martin, B. H. T. Moore, J. M'Allen, II. J. Sim- 
man, M. B. Ilafer, Cyrus Grove, A. L. Raff. 

LETTERKENNY TOWNSHIP 

Directors. — John S. Dice, Samuel Kissinger, J. M. Gelwix,. 
J. M. Kaufman, M. D. Miller, J. A. West 

Teachers. — F. H. Slyder, J. F. Reifsnider, H. Worthington., 
J. C. Burkholder, B. F. Newton, C. Shuman, B. F. Dice, B. F. 
Funk, D. J. West, M. H. Bert, Charles Foreman, Misses W. 
J. Kauffman, Lottie Creamer and Dora Shumaker. 

LURGAN TOWNSHIP. 

Directors. — P. S. Iloch, William Bitner, John F. Woods. 
John M. Diehl, W. A. Golden, Richard Cams. 

Teachers. — D. D. Swanger, Samuel Faust, William Stewart^ 
W. A. Coover, D. D. Fickes, J. B. Shearer, J. II. Morrow, 
Misses L. J. Mowers, K. B. Hoch and R. C. Traxler. 

METAL TOWNSHIP. 

Directors. — John S. Cowan, Win. Noonan, W. R. Noble, 
Amos Dever, Jerome Detrick, David Flickinger. 

Teachers. — Harvey Jones, George M'Gowan, W. J. Park, J. 
A. Ilashinger, R. P. Cowan, W. A. Bear, C. Rice, John Detrich 
and Miss T. G. Deaver. 

MONTGOMERY TOWNSHIP. 

Directors. — Dr. II. G. Chritzman, John W. Anderson, Jacob 
Zook, John Karper, John D. Elliott, John D. Hege. 

Teachers.— J). B. Kline, J. L. Hays, G. W. Kennedy, C. E. 
Wilhelm, L. B. Wagner, J. M. Brosius, A. S. M. Anderson, 
M. A. Embick, John W. Kuhn, Wm. Henkell, W. Rice, and 
Misses S. Work, Ada Hewitt, Ida Steck, Mary Adams, Mary 
Alleman, A. Y. DufTield and E. C. Embick. 

BOROUGH OE MERCERSBURG. 

Directors. — Dr. R. L. Brownson, John Waidlich, O. L. Mur- 
ray, J. S. Whitmore, J. Q. A. Orth, R. P. M'Farland. 

Teachers. — Misses M. Beall, Ella F. Cromer, Sadie M. 
Parker, Sallie Rice, Mattie Stouffer, Ida Negley, and Harry 
A. Dysart. 



102 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

PETERS TOWNSHIP. 

Directors. — Daniel Hege, Jacob Light, George Cromer, 
David Kinsey, Jacob Phillipy, Adam N. Ryder. 

Teachers.— W. M. Byers, John Gift, D. F. Haulman, J. M- 
Xuhm, J. C. Miller, L.^D. Burkholder, J. C. Higgins, A. S. 
Light, J. W. Hill, J. L. Hays, J. A. Stewart, J. H. Light, C. 
H. Craig, Rev. R. Arthur, and Misses S. E. Gardner, X. J. Hill 
and Mary Keefer. 

QUINCY TOWNSHIP. 

Directors. — William Hayman, Samuel S. Winger, Daniel 
IBonebrake, John Duey, Samuel Essick, Abraham Baker. 

Teachers. — F. W. Kynor, Ezra Wile, D. M. Benedict, Daniel 
Price, D. F. Smith, G. A. Helm, Alonzo Middower, M. E. Swi- 
^ert, G. Waulk, J. C. Ferman, Ralph Smith, E. C. Stull, Thos. 
llobinson, and Misses Ida Hemminger, Mary Gilbert and El- 
mira Kohler. 

ST. THOMAS TOWNSHIP. 

Directors.— Sohrv W. Cell, M. H. Kcyser, S. H. Gillan, Geo. 
W. Betz. S. Z. Hawbecker, Daniel Sellers. 

Teachers.— 3 o\n\ C. Detrich, J. R. Gillan, J. W. Coble, D. 
€. Croft, Cornelius Lambert, W. L. Raff, D. T. Kroh, T. En- 
terline, J. A. Benedict, J. Unger, S. B. Reamer, M. L. Grove, 
J. T. Graham, and Miss M. L. M'Garvey. 

SOUTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP. 

Directors. — J. M'Cord Means, W. H. Blair, Jacob Burk- 
liolder, J.©hn S. Beattie, H. G. Skiles, R. F. M'Cune. 

Teacherrs.—C. R. Reed, D. C. Morrison, G. W. Goshart, 
John W..;Coover, J. B. Patterson, P. D. Minnick, W. S. Duncan, 
1\\ C.Eebok, J. M. Wright, George K. M'Cormick, and Misses 
Xizzie Etter, Ida Quigley and Emma Minehart. 

WARREN TOWNSHIP. 

Directors. — Jonathan Yeakle, John C. Cook, O. E. M'Cul- 
loh, William Suffecool, Jacob Bair, J. W. Phinicie. 

Teachers.— k. N. Kirk, Wm. Color, J. C. Whitman, J. Min- 
aiick, and Miss Sadie Kirk. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 103 

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP. 

Directors. — Lewis Detrich, Daniel Hoeflich, Isaac Shockey 
Lewis Lecrone, Martin Funk, John Frantz, Jr. 

Teachers. — J. E. Benchoff, J. R. Miller, C. G. Speilman, J. 
C. Kriner, S. J. Gordon, M. P. Crosby, John A. Potter, S. G. 
Hollinger, George Waddle, R. A. Little, J. Gearhart, J. R. 
Wolfkill, O. N. Law, A. P. Baker, and Misses R. M. Gaff and 
N. M. Minehart. 

BOROUGH OP WAYNESBORO'. 

Directors.— i . B. Beaver, Daniel Tritle, T. J. Filbert, J. W. 
Miller, J. F. Grove, T. H. West 

Teachers. — A. B. Stoler, Edwin Bergstresser, J. West, Mrs. 
J. Funk, and Misses A. E. Grouse, C. A. Coon and Florence 
Richardson. 

BOROUGH OF CHAMBERSBURG. 

Directors. — First Ward, John L. Grier, Casper Wickey, 
Win. Michaels; Second Ward, 'J. N. Snider, A. Hollar, S. M. 
Shillito ; Third Ward, B. Y. Hamsher, Geo. Dittman, D. W. 
Sollenberger ; Fourth Ward, Jas. B. Gillan, Geo. F. Piatt, 
Calvin Gilbert. 

Teachers. — W. H. Hockenberry, C. H. Robertson, Rev. C. 
H. Guudlach, R. S. M'Elwain, D. S. M'Fadden, S. Gelwicks, 
and Misses S. A. Re}' nolds, Mary M. Snider, Jennie Gilbert, 
Lide P. Welsh, Mary E. Wark, Mary E. Mason, Jennie Over, 
Annie Flinder, Ella M. Brand, L. C. Gillan, Ada B. White, 
Adaline Miller, IdaB. Worlcy, Gertie L. Xead, Jennie Frazer, 
Virgie Seibert, Maggie Barry, Laura Eckhart and Grace ]S"it- 
terhouse. 

The fact that the Lancasterian, or Monitorial system of 
education was ever tried in our count}- is known to verj' few 
of our citizens. It originated with a Dr. Bell, in the island 
of Madras, was thence introduced into England, and taken 
hold of by Joseph Lancaster, Esq., who in the first 3-ears of 
this centur3^did so much therefor popular instruction. From 
England this system spread to America, taking the name of 
^'Lancasterian." It was founded upon the principle of making 
iise of the more advanced pupils in the school to aid the 
teachers by acting as Monitors., and taking charge of the 



104 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

yoiing-or and less advanced classes. Large cards were used,, 
on which were printed the letters and figures and whole sen- 
tences of reading. The scliolars learned these b}^ copying 
them, tlie younger ones making the letters and figures in a 
long box of sand placed in front of them ; the elder scholars 
using slates. No pens, ink or paper were used in the school. 
A Monitor with a long rod or pointer overlooked each class 
as it copied the letters and figures on the cards hung up before 
it. All the work of the school was done in a semi-militar}' 
way, at the word of command. 

Mr. James Walker, an old teacher well remembered at Green- 
castle, about the 3'ear 1810 or '12, went to Lancaster in this 
State, where the system was in use, made himself acquainted 
with it, and returned home to Greencastle and opened a school 
in the brick building, afterwards the Methodist Church, which 
stood just south of the present Public School house. He had 
a large school there for a number of years. I know not how 
long his school lived nor whether the system was tried any 
where else in the county. 

COLLEGES AND ACADEMIES. 

In addition to the facilities afforded by our common schools 
to the youth of our county, both male and female, to obtain a 
complete education, we have the '^Mercersburg College" at 
Mercersburg, in a department of which Theology is also taught, 
of which Professor E. E. Higbee, D. D., is Principal ; the 
"Chambersburg Academy" at Chambersburg, of which Pro- 
fessor J. H. Shumaker is Principal ; the "Kennedy Academy" 
at Welsh Kun, of which Rev. J. H. Fleming is Principal ; the 
"Wilson College" (for females) at Chambersburg, of which 
Kev. W. F. Wylie, A. M., is President ; and the "Mercersburg 
Female Seminary" at Mercersburg, of which Rev. J. H. Hass- 
ler is Principal. Besides these are a number of other private 
schools of a high grade in A^arious parts of the count^^, where 
both a common and classical education may be acquired. 

WAR LOSSES. 

In the late war of the Rebellion our county suffered more, 
and our people lost more, than any other county in the north- 
ern States. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 105 

Ours was the debatable ground over which friend and foe 
alike passed at discretion in the carrying out of their military 
operations, and by each were our people caused to suffer. 
Under the authority of a Union Governor of Pennsylvania, 
the horses, saddles, bridles, &c., of our rural population were 
seized and taken for the public use, and many of these seizures 
have never been paid for. The Confederate troops raided 
upon our county several times and stripped our people of their 
horses, their wagons, their carriages, their cattle, their mer- 
chandise and their money ; and in 186.3 Lee, the great captain 
of the hosts of the rebellion, witli the pride and flower of his 
following, near one hundred thousand strong, invaded our 
county and held it in his undisputed control for three weeks 
or more. 

During all the years of the rebellion the people of the bor- 
der counties were in all things loyal to the government. Upon 
us the waves of the rebellion beat, and our sufferings and 
losses were the protection of the people of other parts of our 
Commonwealth. Disinterested, unprejudiced and sworn ap- 
praisers have, for the third time, said that the losses of the 
border counties were $3,452,515.95, distributed as follows, viz: 

Somerset county, - - - - $120 00 

Bedford '• ' ... 6,818 03 

Fulton " .... 56,504 98 

Franklin " ... 846,058 30 

Chambersburg, .... 1,625,435 55 

Adams county, - - - 489,438 99 

York " .... 216,366 15 

Cumberland and Perry counties, - 211,778 95 



$3,452,515 95 
And yet the representatives of the great State of Pennsyl- 
vania have hitherto turned a deaf ear to the petitions of our 
plundered people, many of whom lost their all. Not one 
penny has ever been given to the people of any of these dis- 
tricts, save to the burned out population of Chambersburg, 
who, after much tribulation and many years waiting, obtained 
less than fifty per cent, of their losses. 

In the great fire of 30th July, 1864, by which the town of 
Chambersburg was destroyed, the following buildings were 
burned, viz : 



106 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Residences and places of business, - - - 278 

Barns and stal)les, ----- 98 

Out-buildings of various kinds, - - . 173 



Total, 549 

The total losses of the people of the town have been ap- 
praised at $1,625,435.55, of which near $185,000 was for real 
estate alone. The county was also a great sufferer, and her 
losses are not included in this estimate. Our beautiful court 
house, which, in 1843, cost us $44,545.1(5, was totall}- destroyed, 
and the rebuilding of it cost our people $52,083.25, though the 
old walls were used. But the greatest loss our people sus- 
tained was in the destruction of the large mass of our public 
records, which were burned with the court house. Their loss 
is irreparable. They never can be restored, and it is only 
among the legal fraternit}^ that the magnitude of the calamity 
is duly appreciated. I have known more than one case where 
minors have lost their whole estates by reason of the destrucr 
tion of these records, and their consequent inability upon 
coming of age to prove who were their guardians, or the bail 
of these guardians ; and in other cases where the names of the 
guardians were known, but have become insolvent, the moneys 
in their hands have been lost, because of inability to prove 
who their securities were. 

OUR CRIMINAL HISTORY. 

Nine-tenths of the first white inhabitants of the Cumber- 
land valle}' were, as has already been stated, Scotch-Irish, 
with some Englishmen and pure Scotchmen among them, 
They were generally of the better class, brought up to regard 
the laws of God and man ; the most of them being members 
of some church. They were, therefore, desirable additions to 
the population of the country; good citizens, who generally 
lived at peace with each other, and when the}^ did violate the 
law their crimes were not of a very heinous character. Their 
morality was regulated by the ideas of the age in which they 
lived, and in those days many things were thought quite proper 
and right which would not now meet with approval. The use 
of strong liquors was general amongst them, and to an exces- 
sive indulgence in them was attributable most of their depart- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRA>;KLIN COUNT!'. 107 

ures from the rules of right and good conduct. Hence 
the crimes that our courts in early times were most often 
called upon to tiy and punish were petty larcenies, assaults 
and batteries, riots, &c. The higher crimes, such as arson, 
burglar}', robbery and murder were of rare occurrence among 
the inhabitants of this A'alle}-. Indeed, I do not know of a 
single instance, in this county at least, where a Scotch-Irish- 
man wa^ convicted of either of these offences. Thei'e have 
been but five capital convictions in our count}', so far as I have 
any record, since its organization, over ninety-two years ago. 
Four of these were for murder and one for rape. 

At a court of O^'er and Terminer, held at Chambersburg, in 
November, 1185, before Hon. Thomas M'Kean, Chief Justice 
of the Supreme Court, John Hanna, of Franklin township, and 
Josiah Raniage, of Letterkenny township, were sevcralh' con 
victed of murder in the first degree. 

The names of the grand jurors who found the indictments 
"were as follows, viz : James Maxwell, foreman, William M'- 
Dowell, Thomas Johnston, George Matthews, John M'Clay, 
James Findle}', John Allison, James Watson, Frederick By- 
ers, William Scott, Elias Davidson, Richard Beard, Charles 
M'Clay, Nathan M'Dowell, James Chambers, Patrick Max- 
well, William Rannels, Matthew Wilson, James Moore and 
James Campbell. 

John Hanna was charged with having murdered John Deve- 
baugh, on the 22d day of June, 1785, near the Catholic church 
in Chambersburg, by striking him with an iron stone auger. 
The names of the jurors who tried him were Robert Wilson, 
John Cunningham, John Lawrence, John Gaff, Robert M'Far- 
land, Robert Patton, James AVithers, Matthew Ferguson, Wil- 
liam Strain, John Young, Thomas Lucas and James M'Far- 
land. The crime was committed in the heat of passion, grow- 
ing out of a sudden quarrel, and strong efforts were made for 
his pardon. Such was the influence brought to bear in his 
favor that the Supreme Executive Council at its next meeting, 
on the 17 th of December, 1785, refused to issue a warrant for 
his execution. 

Josiah Ramage was charged with having killed his wife, 
Mary Ramage, on the 24th of March, 1785, in Letterkenny 
township, by striking her on the head with a pair of fire tongs. 



108 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY, 

The names of the Jurors Avho tried him were John Youno-, James 
M'Farland, James Withers, Robert Davidson, William Berry- 
hill, Robert M'Farland, John Lawrence, Daniel Miller, John 
Cunningham. William Strain, Robert Wilson and Gean Mor- 
row. 

The cases of Ilanna and Ramage were again before the Su- 
preme Executive Council on the Gth of April, 17SG, Avhen it 
was ordered that they should be executed on Wednesday the 
third day of May, of that year ; and they were on that day 
lumg by Jeremiah Talbot, the first Sheriff of the county, who 
was paid by the county in the year HSS, a fee of £9, 4 shillings 
therefor. 

A negro slave, named Jack Durham, the property of Andrew 
Long, of this county, was convicted of the crime of rape, at a 
court of Oyer and Terminer, held on the 3d day of June, 1788, 
before Hon. Thomas M'Kean, Chief Justice of the Supreme 
Court, and Wm, Augustus Atlee and George Bryan, his asso- 
ciates, and on the 21st of June of that year the Supreme Ex- 
ecutive Council ordered that his execution be "made and done" 
on Tuesday, the 8th day of July following. John Johnston, 
the second Sheriff of our county, executed Durham, and wa& 
paid by the county a fee of £Y, 10 shillings therefor. 

The crime was committed at Southampton township, upon 
the person of one Margaret Stall. The jury valued Durham 
at thirty pounds, Pennsylvania currency, or $80, which was- 
paid his owner by the Commonwealth. The names of the jurors 
who tried him were John Ray, George King, Robert M'Cul- 
loch, James Erwin, Robert Parker, p]dward Crawford, Robert 
Culbertson, John M'Mullan, Henry Pawling, John M'Clellan, 
William Henderson and Joseph Chambers. 

On the 12th day of November, 180T, a man named John M'- 
Kean was convicted of the murder of his wife, in Washington 
township, on the 30th of August previously, and was executed 
by Jacob Snyder, Esq., Sheriff of our county, on the 22d day 
of December, 1807. He was the last man executed in this, 
county. 

The jury who tried M'Kean were Thomas Anderson, Henry 
Davis, John Witherow, Christian Kr^aler, James Smith, David 
Jolm, William Brewster, James M'Curdy, (of James,) John 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 109 

HoUiday, David Kennedy, John Irvin and Jacob Smith, of 
Lurgan. 

John Mnrtagii, an Irisli railroad liand employed in the mak- 
ing of the "Tape-worm,'' as the railroad leading from (jettys- 
bui'g towards Hagerstown was called, was convicted at the 
April sessions, 1838, of the murder of one of his fellow-work- 
men, named James M'Glinchey, and sentenced on the 7th of 
April, 1838, to be hung, but he became insane after his convic- 
tion, was several times respited, and finally died in prison, 

Ramage and Hanna were hung on the hill north of the pre- 
sent residence of Jacob Xixon, and Durham and ]\['Kean east 
of the present residence of William M'Lellan, Esq., about 
M'here the new residence of James A.M'Knight has been built. 
Hence that hill was called for many 3'ears '"Gi-allows Hill." 

Much of the criminal business of our county for the last fifty 
years, indeed the viosf of it, even up to, and including the pre- 
sent period, has been caused by the presence of the large num- 
ber of colored people amongst vis. Our Commonwealth hav- 
ing, as early as 1180, passed "An Act for the gradual abolition 
of slaver}'" within her borders, it became a common occurrence 
for the free negroes of Maryland and Virginia to leave those 
States and remove to Pennsylvania, and our county being im- 
mediately upon the dividing line between the free and the 
slave States, they were content, as soon as they got north of that 
line to settle down and remain where they were safe from the 
oppressive laws of their former condition of servitude. In many 
instances the executors of deceased slave owners, who had 
manumitted their slaves, brought the new freedmen, sometimes 
numbering thii'ty or forty in a lot, within the borders of our 
county, and there left them to provide for themselves. To 
these causes it is owing that we have had so many colored pec- 
l)le amongst us. Some of them were sober, industrious and 
economical, but the greater part of them were improvident, 
lazy, and addicted to the use of strong drinks whenever they 
could get them. Hence they were quarrelsome and riotous, 
and through their improvidence and laziness were frequent!}^ 
before our courts for fighting or stealing, or were the inmates 
of our poor house, from want ; in all cases taxing our trea- 
sury for their punishment and support. 

To Penns^dvania belongs the lasting honor of being the first 



110 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

one of the "United Colonies" to acknowledge before God and 
the nations of the v/oiid, the duties and obligations resting 
iipon her to do justice to the colored people within her borders? 
by providing for their equality before the law as men ; and by 
giving to them and their descendants the right to enjoy the 
inestimable i)rivileges of life, liberty and hapi)iness, for which 
the war of the revolution was then being waged with Great 
Britain. 

On the 5tli of February, HTQ, when General Joseph Reed 
was President of the Supreme Executive Council of our State, 
George Bryan, Esq., Vice President, and James M'Lene, Esq., 
a Councilor from the county of Cumberland, the Council called 
the attention of the General Assembly of the State to the sub- 
ject of the abolition of slavery in Pennsylvania, in language so 
remarkable, because of its being so much in advance of the 
sentiments of the people of other sections of the land at that 
day, and so different from the views held even now by a great 
many of our people, both north and south, that I feci con- 
strained to give it here. 

" We think," said they, "we are loudly called on to evince 
our gratitude in making our fellow-men joint heirs with us of 
the same inestimable blessings we now enjoy, under such re- 
strictions and regulations as will not injure the community, 
and will impercej^tibl}^ enable them to relish and improve the 
station to which they will be advanced. Honored will that 
State be in the annals of mankind which shall first abolish this 
violation of the rights of mankind ; and the memories of those 
will be held in grateful and everlasting remembrance who shall 
pass the law to restore and establish the rights of human nature 
in Pennsylvania." 

On the first day of March, 1180, the representatives of the 
Keystone State of the Union, in General Assembly met, in the 
city of Philadelphia, close by the Congress of the United Colo- 
nies, then also in session there, passed Pennsylvania's act for 
the gradual abolition of human slavery. The struggle for na- 
tional independence was then still undetermined. Continental 
currency had depreciated so much that one dollar of specie 
would purchase three thousand of curi'ency. The British on 
the east, and tlie savages on the west, pressed hard upon the 
struggling patriots. The national government was without 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. Ill 

credit ; the army and the navy were without the material 
needed to conduct the war to a successful ending ; and all — 
army, navy, and people — were sadly straitened for the neces- 
saries of life. And yet, Pennsylvania's representatives, undis- 
maj^ed by their surroundings, and unheedful what the repre- 
sentives in Congress of the slave-holding States of the nation 
might think of their action, gave utterance to their views of 
slavery, and the conclusions tliey had come to about it, in lan- 
guage so beautiful and so forcible, that justice to their memory 
impels me to extract the Preamble to the law they then enacted, 
long though it be, as I am satisfied that the great majority of 
tlie people have never seen or read it. 

I. "When," say they, '"we contemplate our abhorrence of 
that condition, to which the arms and tyranny of Great Bri- 
tain were exerted to reduce us ; when we look back on tlie va- 
riety of dangers to which we have been exposed, and how mi- 
raculously our wants, in many instances, have been supplied, 
and our deliverance wrought, when even hope and human for- 
titude have become unequal to the conflict, we are unavoida- 
bly led to a serious and grateful sense of tlie manifold bless- 
ings which we have undeservedly received from the hand of 
that Being from whom every good and perfect gift cometh. 
Impressed with these ideas, we conceive that it is our duty, 
and we rejoice tliat it is in our power, to extend a portion of 
that freedom to others which hath been extended to us, and 
release from that state of thraldom, to which we ourselves were 
tyrannically doomed, and from which we liave now every pros- 
pect of being delivered. It is not for us to enquire why, in 
the creation of mankind, the inhabitants of the several parts of 
the earth were distinguished by a difference in feature or com- 
plexion. It is sufficient to know that all are the loork of an 
Almighty hand. We find in the distribution of the human 
species, that the most fertile, as well as the most barren parts 
of the earth arc inhabited by men of complexions different 
from ours, and from each other ; from whence we may reason- 
ably, as well as religiousl}^, infer, that He who placed them in 
their various situations hath extended equally' His care and 
protection to all, and that it becometh not us to counteract 
His mercies. We esteem it a peculiar blessing granted to us, 
that we are enabled this day to add one more step to universal 



112 mSTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

civilization by removing as nmcli as possible the sorrows of those 
who have lived in undeserved bondage, and from which by the 
assumed authority of the kings of Great Britain, no effectual, 
legal relief could be obtained. Weaned by a long course of 
experience, from the narrow prejudices and partialities we had 
imbibed, we find our hearts enlarged with kindness and be- 
nevolence towards men of all conditions and nations ; and we 
conceive ourselves at this particular period extraordinarily^ 
called upon, by the blessings which we have receiA'ed, to inani- 
fest the sincerity of our profession, and to give a substantial 
2)roof of our gratitude." 

II. "And whereas, the condition of those persons, who have 
heretofore been denominated negro and mulatto slaves, has 
been attended with circumstances, which not only deprived 
them of the common blessings that they were by nature en- 
titled to, but has east them into the deepest afflictions, hy an 
unnatural sejiaration and sale of husljand and wife from each 
other, and from their children, an injury-, the greatness of 
which can only be conceived by supposing that we were in the 
same unhappy case. In justice, therefore, to persons so un- 
happily circumstanced, and who, having no prospect before 
them wherein they may rest their sorrows and their hopes ; 
have no reasonable inducement to render their service to soci- 
ety, which they otherwise might, and also in grateful com- 
memoration of our own happy deliverance from that state of 
unconditional submission to which we were doomed by the 
tyranny of Great Britain." Therefore be it enacted, &c. 

How different these ideas and purposes from those enter- 
tained by many persons, especially in the southern States, at 
the present day. ?s"otwithstanding the fact that the Constitu- 
tion of the United States, the supreme law of the land, gives 
to all men, of every class and color, equal rights and privileges, 
its provisions are wdiolly disregarded in many sections of the 
Union, to the everlasting disgrace of the nation and the States 
permitting it. 

It is to be deplored that the criminal biisiness of our county 
has so greatly increased of late years. It is now a vast and 
constantly increasing burthen to our people. Twenty-five years 
ago the office of Prosecuting Attorney was one that a law3'er 
in full practice cared not to accept, because, whilst it gave 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 113 

considerable trouble to the bolder of the office, the fees 
received from it afforded no adequate compensation for the 
labor connected with the discharge of its duties. But now 
the office of District Attorney is amongst the most desirable 
and lucrative j^ositions in the gift of our people, all things 
considered. Much of the increased expenditure in our crim- 
inal courts is attributable to the indiscriminate entertainment 
by magistrates of charges for petty oftences that should never 
-have been dignified by being brought before a court and jury. 

OUR MILITARY RECORD. 

In the earl}' days of the settlement of the Cumberland 
Talley, whilst this part of it was yet in Lancaster and Cum- 
berland counties, there were quite a number of our citizens 
who figured prominently in the military matters of the day. 
Indian forays, murders, pursuits and fights were quite fre- 
quent, and numerous lives were lost in them. Of those brave 
and hardy pioneers, in most instances, we know nothing but 
their names. They were more active in making history than 
in writing it ; and of many of them we have no records except 
such as are traditional. Of others the historians have spoken 
here and there, and it is their deeds and fame that I wish to 
rescue from oblivion. 

Among the earliest of these of whom we have any reliable 
account is Colonel James Smith, a native of Peters township, 
in our count3\ In May, 1*155, whilst engaged with others in 
opening a road from Fort Loudon to Bedford, he was captured 
by the Indians. He was subsequently adopted in the Caugli- 
newaga tribe, remained with them until 1Y59, then escaped to 
Montreal, and got home in 1760. In 1763 he was actively 
engaged against the Indians as a captain of rangers. He next 
served as an ensign in the English Provincial army. In 1764 
lie took service under General John Armstrong, and was 
a lieutenant in Bouquet's expedition against the savages. In 
1765 he was the leader of a band of settlers who burnt the 
goods of some Indian traders because they had with them 
powder and lead, which they feared would be sold in the west 
to the Indians, and be used against the frontier settlements. 
A number of the residents in the neighborhood of Mercers- 
burg and Fort Loudon, who had nothing to do with this burn- 
8 



114 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

ing, were arrested by the British troops and confined at Fort 
Loudon. Smith and his "boys'^ rallied to the rescue, and soon 
took more of the soldiers (llighlanders) prisoners than there 
were of their friends confined at the fort. An exchange was 
effected and Smith's neighbors were released. 

In 1769 some settlers were arrested and confined in Fort 
Bedford for their alleged former participation in the destruc- 
tion of the goods of the Indian traders. Smith raised a com- 
pany, marched to Bedford, captured the fort and all its garrison, 
and liberated the men. Some time afterwards he was arrested 
for this act, and in the struggle his travelling companion was 
shot and killed. He was charged with the shooting, was 
arrested and imprisoned at Bedford, and subsequently taken 
to Carlisle for trial, the ofiense having been committed in 
Cumberland county. A body of six hundred of his old com- 
panions and neighbors assembled as soon as they heard of his 
arrest, marched to Carlisle and demanded his release. Smith 
refused to be released, made a speech to his friends, and coun- 
seled them to return home, which they did. He remained in 
prison for four months, was tried before the Supreme Court 
at Carlisle, in 1169, and acquitted. Shortly after he was 
elected and serA'ed for three years as a County Commissioner 
in Bedford count}-, then removed to Westmoreland county and 
served there three years in the same ottice. In 1*774 he was 
captain of a company o})erating against the Indians. In 1776 
he commanded a company of rangers in New Jersey, and with 
thirty-six men defeated a detachment of two hundred Hes- 
sians, taking a number prisoners. In 1776 he was elected a 
member of the Convention of Pennsylvania from Westmore- 
land county. In 1777 was elected a member of the Assembly 
from that county, and re-elected as long as he desired to serve- 
In 1777 General Washington offered him a commission as 
major, but not liking the colonel of the battalion, he declined 
it. Whilst serving in the Assembly he applied for and got 
leave of absence to raise a battalion of rifle rangers to serve 
against the British in New Jersey. James M'Cammont, of 
this county, was the major under him, and when, afterwards, 
Colonel Smith was taken sick, took the command of his troops 
and did good service. In 1778 he was commissioned a colonel,, 
and served against the western Indians. In the expedition' 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 115 

against the French Creek Indians he commanded a battalion 
of four hundred riflemen, and did good service. In the year 
1788 he removed to Bourbon count}', Kentucky, where he 
served in the State Convention and in the Legislature eantin- 
uously till 1799, and died about the beginning of the pi^esent 
century. 

Major General James Potter was anotlier of these ancient 
worthies. He was a son of John Potter, the first Sheriff of 
Cumberland count v. In 1758 he was a lieutenant in Colonei 
Armstrong's battalion from this and Cumberland counties. 
On the 26th of July, 1764, he appears in command «>f the- 
company of settlers who were pursuing the Indians who mur- 
dered the schoolmaster and children at Guitner's school house,, 
a few miles south-west of Marion. He subsequently reiaO'VecT 
to what is ifow Centre count}-, where he purchased a large- 
body of land, and built a stockade fort, widely known in those 
days as "Potter's Fort." He was appointed a brigadier gen- 
eral April 5th, 1777, and a major general May 23d, 1782. He- 
was Vice President of tlie State in 1781, and a member of the 
Council of Censors in 1784 and on one occasion came withirt 
one vote of being made President of the State. In the 3'ear 
1789, having received an injury, he came to his daughter's., 
Mrs. Poe, near Marion, to have the advantage of the advice 
and attendance of Dr. John M'Lellan, of Greencastle. He- 
died there in the fall of that year, and was buried in the- 
Brown's Mill grave-yard. No monumental stone marks the 
i:)lace of his repose. 

Major James M'Calmont (or M'Cammont, as he wrote his. 
name) was another of the celebrated men of this region of' 
our State in the last century. He was born in Letterkenny 
township, in this county, near where the town of Strasbnrg: 
now stands, in the year 1739. He grew up surrounded by all 
the dangers and excitements of a frontier life. ATith the hills 
and dales of iiis native district, and all the wild recesses of its. 
' neighboring mountains, he was perfectly familiar. His soul- 
delighted in tiie free air of the woods. He was slvilled in the 
use of the rifle, and fear was an emotion unknown to his; 
nature. His swiftness of foot was most extraordinary, and 
obtained for him the cognomen of "Supple M'Cammont." He 
was generally selected as the leader of the parties called iiit<a. 



116 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRAKKLIN COUNTY. 

service to pursue the savages whenever tliey made an incur- 
sion into the neighborliood of his place of residence ; and so 
successful was he in tracing the route of their retreat, or dis- 
covering their haunts ; and so summary was the vengeance 
intlicted upon them through liis efforts, that he soon became 
quite celebrate:! as an Indian scout, and was acknowledged 
by the savages as a daring and formidable foe. He was an 
ardent patriot, and when the revolution broke out hastened to 
enter the service of his countr}-. When the British occupied 
Philadelphia he had command of a troop of rangers, whose 
iDUsiness it was to prevent the Tories of the interior furnish- 
ing provisions to tlieir friends in the cit}', Whilst on duty 
one time in Xew^ Jersey, he captured a number of Hessians, 
Avhom he induced to locate near Strasburg, and whose descen- 
sdants are there yet. He served as major of the sixth battalion 
•of the Cumberland county troops in the revolutionar}^ armji 
under command of Col. Samuel Culbertson of this county, 
4jnd also as a major of a battalion of rifle rangers, under Col. 
James Smith, and was known as a brave and accomplished 
soldier. He was one of the trustees appointed b}' the Legis- 
lature to build a court house and jail for our county. He was 
-a member of the House of Kepresentatives from this county 
for the years n84-'85, 1785-'86, ITBG-'ST, and n8t-'88 ; and 
in 1*789 was appointed one of the Judges of our courts, and 
reappointed foui'th Associate Judge, under the constitution of 
ITOO, on the 17th of August, 1791, which position he held 
nntil his death, on the 19th of July, 1809. He was then 
seventy-two 3'cars of age, and lies buried at the Rocky Spring 
church. 

Another of our ancient worthies, whose daring adventures 
have been pored over by every school bo}^ in the land, was 
■Captain Samuel Brady, the celebrated Indian scout. He was 
Ijorn at Shippensburg in 1756 or 1758. Though not a native 
of our count}', yet on our soil many of his earlier days were 
spent in roaming our hills and dales. 

"lie knew each pathway through the wood, 
Each dell uiiwarined by sunshine's gleam ; 

Where the brown pheasant led her brood, 
Or wild deer came to drink the stream." 

The first drum-tap of the revolution called him to arms, 

find he commenced his services at Boston, and was in most of 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 117 

the principal engagements of the war. At tlie battle of 
Princeton he served under Colonel Hand, and at the massacre 
of Paoli he barely escaped capture. After the battle of Mon- 
mouth he was promoted to a captaincj' and ordered to Fort Pitt 
to join General ]5roadhead, with whom he became a great favor- 
ite, and by whom he was almost constantly employed in scout- 
ing. The murder of his father and l)rother in n78-'79, by the 
Indians, turned the current of his hatred against the treach- 
erous red man, and it never died out. A more implacable foe 
never lived. Day and night, year in and year out, he lived 
only to kill Indians. Being well skilled in all the m^^steries of 
woodcraft, he followed the trail of his enemies with all the 
tenacit}^, fierceness and silence of a sleuth hound. Most of his 
exploits took place in Ohio, north-western Pennsylvania, and 
western New York. He was a dread terror to the Indians, and 
a tower of strength to the whites. He commanded the advance 
guard of General Brodhead's troops in the expedition against 
the Indians of the upper Alleghen}- in the year 1780, and he 
and his rangers aided greatlj^ in defeating the savages under 
Bald Eagle and Corn Planter, at the place now known as 
Brady's Bend. Of his famous "leap" of more than twenty- 
five feet across the Cuyahoga river, and his other numerous 
and daring adventures and hair-breadth escapes, I will not 
speak. The books are full of them. He died at West Liberty, 
West Virginia, about the year 1800. 

Colonel Joseph Armstrong was an early settler in Hamilton 
township, in this county. In 17o5 he organized a company of 
rangers for the protection of the frontier against the incur- 
sions of the Indians. The names of his subordinate officers 
are now unknown, but the following is the roll of the men 
who composed his compan}" : 

TRIVATES. 

John Armstrong, Samuel Brown 

Thomas Armstrong, Samuel Brown, 

James Barnet, John Boyd, 

John Barnet, Alexander Caldwell, 

Joshua Barnet, Robert Caldwell, 

Thomas Barnet, Sr , James Dinney, 

Thomas Barnet, Jr., William Dinney, 



118 



HISTOIIICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



Robert Dixson, 
* William Dixsoii, 
James Eaton, 
John Eaton, 
Joslnia Eaton, 
'*James Elder, 
'George Gallery, 
Robert Groin, 
James Gnthrie, 
John Hind man, 
Abram Irwin, 
Christopher Irwin, 
vJohn Irwin, 
John Jones, 
James M'Camant, Sr., 
James M'Camant, Jf., 
Charles M'Camant, 
James M'Camish, 
John M'Camish, 
William M'Camish, 
Robert M'Connell, 
■John M'Cord, 
William M'Cord, 
Jonathan M'Kearney, 
John Maehan, 
James Mitchell, 
John Mitchell. 



Joshna Mitchell, 
William Mitchell, 
Jon. Moore, 
James Norrice, 
John Norrice, 
James Patterson, 
Joshua Patterson, 
William Rankin, 
Jon. Rippe}, 
Barnet Robertson, 
Francis Scott, 
James Scott, 
Patrick Scott, 
William Scott, 
David Shields, 
Matthew Shields, Sr., 
Matthew Shields, Jr., 
Robert Shields, Sr., 
Robert Shields, Jr., 
Jon. Swan, 
Joshua Sw^an, 
William Swan, 
Charles Stuart, 
Daniel Stuart, 
John Stuart, 
Devard Williams, 
Jon. Wilson. 



He was a member of the Colonial Assembly- in ITSG-'St and 
"^58. He commanded a company of militia, (most likely the 
icompan}^ of rangers above named,) under General Broadhead, 
:at the destruction of the Indian town of Kittanning, on the 8tli 
of September, 1156. Was paymaster of the Colony in the 
•building of the great road from Fort Loudon to Pittsburg, and 
in December, IT 76, raised a battalion of troops in the county 
of Cumberland (the 5th battalion) and marched with them to 
the vdefenee of Philadelphia. The following pei'sons com- 
imaMfled the companies of his battalion, viz : John Andrew, 
.Samuel Patton, John M'Connell, William Thompson, (after- 
wards a brig-adier general,) Charles Maclay, James M'Kee, 
John ]VIartin, John Rea, (afterw'ards a brigadier general,) 
•Jokai Murph}^, George Matthews and John Boggs. This bat- 

*Wm. Dixson was the grandfather of Col. W. D. Dixson, of St. Thomas 
township, and James Elder was the grandfather of Col. James G. Elder, 
•of Cham bers(jurg. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 119 

talion -was raised in Hamilton, Letterkenny and Lurgan town- 
sliips, and tradition says that they were the flower of the val- 
ley, brave, hardy and resolute Presbj'-terians, nearly all mem- 
bers of the old Rock}' Spring church. Captain M'Clay's com- 
pany numbered one hundred men, raised in old Lurgan town- 
ship, each man over six feet in height. This company suffered 
severely in the surprise of Brigadier General John Lacj-'s com- 
mand at '-Crooked Billet," in Bucks county, on the morning 
of the 4th of Maj-, 1778. Captain Maclay and nearly one-half 
of his men were killed, and man}-- were wounded. General 
Lacy, in his report of the battle, says '"that the wounded were 
butchered in a manner the most brutal savages could not 
equal ; even while living, some were thrown into buckwheat 
straw, and the straw set on fire and burnt up." And this re- 
port is borne out by the testimonj' of persons residing in the 
vicinity, who saw the partially consumed bodies in the fire. 

Another of these ancient worthies, whom it would be a gross 
injustice not to mention in this connection, was the Rev. John 
Steele. He was called to the charge of the Presbj'terian 
churches of East and "West Conococheague, now Greencastle 
and Mercersburg, about the year 1751 or 1752. He came to 
our county at a time when the country' was greatly disturbed 
b}^ the incursions of the hostile Indians of the west. Though 
ii man of peace, and engaged in teaching the doctrines of his 
Divine Master, yet his heart burned within him at the suffer- 
ings inflicted upon his parishioners and neighbors, and he 
speedily organized a company of rangers for their defence, of 
which he was unanimously elected the captain, and was com- 
missioned l\y the colonial government. After the disastrous 
defeat of General Braddock in 1755, the Indians again swept 
over the western and south-western part of our county, mur- 
dering and plundering the settlers, and Mr. Steele's congrega- 
tions were for a time almost broken up and dispersed. Fre- 
quent mention is made of Mr. Steele and his men in the his- 
tory- of those troublous times. Rev. D. K. Richardson, in his 
Centennial Sermon in relation to the Presbyterian church of 
Greencastle, delivered August 15th, 1876, sa3-s : ''At onetime 
lie was in charge of Fort Allison, located just west of town, 
near what afterwards became the site of M'Caviley's Mill. The 
cono-resatiou had assembled in a barn standing on the farm now 



120 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

owned 1)3' Adam B. Wingerd, Esq. They brought their arms 
with them. When Mr. Steele entered the rude })uli)it which 
had been erected he hung his hat and riUe behind him. The 
male members of the congregation sat listening to the gospel 
message with their arms at their side. While in the midst of 
his discourse, some one appeared and quietly called a member 
•of the congregation out, and told him of the murder of a fam- 
ily of the name of Walker, by the Indians, at what is now 
known as Kankin's Mill. The awful story was soon whispered 
from one to another. As soon as Mr. Steele discovered what 
had taken place he brought the services to a close, took down 
his hat and rifle, and, at the head of the members of his con- 
gregation, went in pursuit of the murderers." 

His "meeting-house" on the West Conococheague was turned 
into a fort, was stockaded for defence, and often was the refuge 
of the neighboring people when the countr}' was invaded by 
the Indians. It was afterAvards burned by the savages in one 
of their forays. 

About the year 1763 or 1764, Mr. Steele took charge of the 
Presbyterian congregations of Carlise and lower Pennsbor- 
ough, where he spent the remainder of his days. When the 
revolutionary war broke out the people of this valley responded 
to the call of their country with zeal and unanimity. Eleven, 
companies were raised in Cumberland county in a few days. 
Hon. George Chambers, in his tribute to the early Scotch- 
Irish settlers, says: "The compau}' in the lead in July, 1776, 
from Carlisle, was that under the command of the Reverend 
Captain John Steele, pastor of the Presbyterian congregation 
worshipping in or near Carlisle. In the Indian wars he had 
acquired military training and experience, which were now at 
the service of his country against the army of his late, but 
now rejected, royal master." 

One of the most prominent of the military families of our 
county in those early daj'S was the "Johnstons," of Antrim 
township. James Johnston, senior, settled about two and one- 
half miles east of Greencastle, near where Shady Grove now is,. 
about 1735. He died about 1765, leaving a large estate and 
four sons and several daughters. Colonel James Johnston^ 
the eldest son, was a soldier in the revolution, and commanded 
a battalion from this county at various points in New Jersey. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 121 

He died about the year 1814. Colonel Thomas Johnston, the 
second son, was adjutant of the detachment of troops under 
General Wayne which was surprised and slaughtered by the 
British at Paoli, September 20th, 1777. He twice served as 
colonel in the revolutionary Avar. He died about the year 1819, 

Dr. Robert Johnston, of Antrim township, the third son, was 
appointed surgeon to Colonel William Irvine's battalion, from 
this county, on the 16th January, 1776, and served his country 
in that capacity throughout the whole war of the revolution. 
He was present, as hospital surgeon in the southern depart- 
ment, at the surrender of the British army under Lord Corn- 
wallis, at Yorktown, Virginia, in October, 1781, and in 1790 
was appointed collector of excise for Franklin county. He 
was also i^ubsequently appointed by President Jefferson, with 
whom he was very familiar, United States revenue collector 
for western Pennsylvania. His acquaintance with the leading 
officers and men of the revolution was ver}"^ large, and many of 
them were wont to spend much of their time at his hospitable 
residence, about two and a half miles south of Greencastle» 
Tradition sa3^s that President Washington stopped there and 
dined with the family when going westward to inspect the Ma- 
ryland and Virginia troops called out to aid in suppressing 
the whisky insurrection of 1 794. Lieutenant Genei'al Winfield 
Scott was also, in his youthful da^^s, a visitor at '"Johnston's" 
as well as many others of his compatriots, and of the literati 
of those times. 

Robert Johnston made a visit to China about the commence- 
ment of the present century, and brought back many rare cu- 
riosities from that far distant countr3^ He died about the 
year 1808. 

John Johnston, the youngest son, at the age of twenty 
years, raised a troop of horse and marched them to Lancaster, 
but their services not being needed they returned home. He 
subsequently removed to Westmoreland count}', where he died 
about the year 1825. 

Another of our native-born military men of "ye olden time," 
and one whose patriotism, zeal and bravery did honor to the 
place of his nativit}', was Brigadier General James Chambers. 
He was the eldest son of Colonel Benjamin Chambers, the 
founder of Chambersburg, and in June, 1775. marched, as the 



122 IIISTRMCAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

captain of a company of riflemen raised in Cliambersburg and 
vicinity, to the siege of Boston. Tlie battle of Bunker Hill 
was fought June 17th, 1775, and Dr. Egle, in his recent history 
of Pennsylvania, says : "Within ten days after the news of the 
battle of Bunker's Hill reaching the province of Pennsylvania, 
her first rifle regiment was officered and completed, many of 
the companies numbering one hundred men. It was com- 
manded by Colonel William Thompson, of Cumberland county, 
whom Lossing, by mistake, credits to Virginia. The compa- 
nies were severally under the command Captains James Cham- 
bers, Robert Cluggage, Michael Doudel, William Hendricks, 
John Lowden, James Ross, Matthew Smith and George Nagel. 
The regiment, upon its organization, at once marched to the 
relief of Boston, where they arrived about the last of July. 
They were the first companies south of the Hudson to arrive 
in Massachusetts, and naturally excited much attention. They 
were stout and hardy yeomanry, the flower of Pennsylvania's 
frontiersmen, and, according to Thatcher, "remarkable for the 
accuracy of their aim." This command became, in January, 
1776, the _/irs^ regiment of the ai^mij of the United Colonies^ 
commanded by General George Washington.-'' Two companies 
of this battalion. Captains Smith and Hendricks, were subse- 
quently ordered to accompany General Arnold in his unsuc- 
cessful expedition to Quebec. Their term of service was for 
one year. 

This regiment was enlisted under a resolution of Congress, 
dated June 14th, 1775, authorizing the raising of six compa- 
nies of expert riflemen in Pcnnsjdvania, ten in Maryland and 
two in Virginia, to join the army at Boston. Each company 
to contain one captain, three lieutenants, four sergeants, one 
corporal, one drummer and sixty-eight privates. The com- 
missions of the officers bear date 25th June, 1775. 

The companies rendezvoused at Reading, where the regi- 
ment was organized by the election of Wm. Thompson, of 
Carlisle, colonel, Edward Hand, of Lancaster, lieutenant 
colonel, and Robert Magaw, of Carlisle, major. It marched 
at once to Boston by way of Easton, through northern New 
Jersey, crossing the Hudson river at New W^indsor, a few miles 
north of West Point, and arrived in camp at Cambridge, 
according to the latest authorities, in the beginning of August, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 123 

1775. At this time tlie regiment liad three field officers, nine 
captains, twenty-seven lieutenants, one adjutant, one quarter- 
master, one surgeon, one surgeon's mate, twenty-nine sergeants, 
thirteen drummers and seven hundred and thirteen rank and 
file fit for duty. 

Captain Chambers' company was the onl\' one in the regi- 
ment, so far as I know, that was raised within the bounds of 
our present count}'. I therefore was very anxious to get a 
complete roll of it, believing that our people would be pleased 
to have a knowledge of the names of the first patriot soldiers 
who left our county to battle for the independence of the 
United Colonies. For a long time I searched in vain for this 
roll, at Harrisburg, at Philadelphia, and at Washington cit}', 
and I feared I would not succeed in getting it. But recently 
the rolls of the regiment were found among the papers of 
Colonel Hand of Lancaster county, who succeeded to the 
command of the regiment upon the capture of Colonel Thomp- 
son, and through the kindness of Hon. John B. Linn, Deputy 
Secretary of the Commonwealth, I am able to give the com- 
plete roll of Captain Chambers' company. It is as follows, 
viz. : 

ROLL OF CAPTxilN CHAMBERS' COMPANY. 

James Chambers, Captain, Benj. Carson, 

James Grier, Lst Lieut., Wm. Chestne}', 

Nathan M'Connell, 2d Lieut., John Dermont, 

Thos. Buchanan, Sd Lieut., Joseph Eaton, 

David Hay, Sergeant, John Everly, 

Arthur Andrews, Sergeant, Abijah Fairchild, 

Alex. Crawford, Sergeant, James Furmoil, 

David Bo}^!, John Fidd, 

John Bi'andon, Wm. Gildersleeve, 

Johnson Brooks, Richard Henne}', 

James Black, Peter Hogan, 

Thomas Beatty, George Houseman, 

David Biddle, John Hutchinson, 

Michael Benker, Thomas Hutchinson, 

Archibald Brown, Charles Irwin, 

Black Brown, Francis Jamiesou, 

John Brown, Rolrt Joblier, 

Wm. Barnett, Andrew Johnston, 

Timothy Campbell, George Justice, 

Wm. Campbell, Andrew Keith, 



124 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Lewis Kcttleng, Patrick M'Gaw, 

Michael Kelly, Thomas Mason, 

Thomas Kell}-, Patrick Is'eale, 

Silas Leonard, Wm. Parker, 

David Liikens, David Eiddle, 

Thos. Lochry, Thomas Rogers, 

Patrick Logan, Nicholas Sawyer, 

Nicholas Lowrie, Joseph Scott, 

John liynch, Jacob Shnte, 

John M'Cosh, Moses Skinner, 

James M'p]leve, Timothy Stiles. 

John M'Donald, Patrick Sullivan, 

Michael M'Gibson, James Sweeney, 

Cornelius M'Giggan, James Symns, / 

Jas. M'Haff'ey, Thomas Yaughn. 
John M'Murtrie, 

On the 26th of August, 1775, Captain Chambers commanded 
a detachment of four hundred men, drawn from the Cumber- 
land county companies, sent out to Prospect Hill and Ploughed 
Hill, near Boston, to protect a force of about two thousand 
men who were erecting a redoubt upon the latter hill. On 
the 7th of March, 1776, he was promoted to the lieutenant 
colonelcy of his regiment, vice Lieutenant Colonel Hand, ap- 
pointed Colonel in the place of Colonel Thompson, who had 
been commissioned a Brigadier General on the first of the 
month. He was soon after ordered to Long Island, in the 
vicinity of New York. He was in the battle of Flatbush, on. 
the 22d of August, 1776, and also in that at King's Bridge, 
In his report of the operations at Flatbush he says that "Cap- 
tain John Steele acted with great bravery." On the 30th of 
August, 1776, the Pennsylvania troops were selected as a corjis- 
de-reserve to cover the rear of the patriot army in their retreat 
from Long Island. That body was composed of Colonel 
Hand's regiment of which Chambers was Lieutenant Colonel, 
Colonel Hazens', Colonel Shea's and Colonel Hazlett's regi- 
ments. On the 26th of September, 1776, Mr. Chambers was 
commissioned colonel of his" regiment, in place of Colonel 
Hand appointed brigadier general. In June, 1777, he was in 
New Jersey, and was one of the first officers to enter New 
Brunswick with his command and drive the eneni}- out. On 
the 11th of September, 1777, his command was opposed to the 
Hessians under General Knyphausen, at Chadd's Ford and 



inSTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 125 

Brandywine, where he was wounded in the side, together with 
two of his captains, Greer and Craig, and Lieutenant HoUi- 
day, also of his regiment, was killed. He was also in the 
hattle of Gerraantown, October 4th, IttT ; and in that of 
Monmouth. June 28th, 11TS; he led the attack at the hattle 
of Bergen Point, Jul}- 20th, 1780, and his regiment was com- 
plimented for their bravery by General Wayne, in general 
orders, on the 23d of^ the same month. He was at White 
Plains, West Point and other points, in active service, up to 
the time of his resignation, in 1781. Having seen more than 
six years constant service, he needed rest. After his retire- 
ment he was three different times appointed to the command 
of a battalion in his native county. In 1794 he was appointed 
to the command of the third brigade of the Pennsylvania 
troops called out to quell the whisky insurrection, and in 
1798 was again appointed to a similar command in the Penn- 
sjdvania troops called out in anticipation of a war with France- 
He was the second Justice of the Peace and Judge of our 
countj^ courts, appointed September 17th, 1784, and served 
until the constitution of 1790 went into force in 1791. He 
was also a member of the "Society of the Cincinnati," insti- 
tuted by the officers of the American army. He died at 
Loudon Forge, his place of residence, April 25th, 1805, and 
was buried with military honors in the resting place conse- 
crated by his father, the cemetery of the Falling Spring church 
at Chambersburg. 

I have found it extremely difficult to make up a connected, 
reliable, or satisfactory history of the military organizations 
that originated in our county during the revolutionary strug- 
o^le, or of the officers and men connected with them. Their 
terms of service, at first, were generally very short, ranging 
from six months to a year, and the changes in their regimental 
organizations, because of deaths, desertions, sickness, promo- 
tions and expiration of service, were so frequent that it has 
been impossible, with my limited sources of information, to 
trace the history of any particular company or regiment for 
any great length of time, in a satisfactory manner. It would 
be foreign to my purpose to notice the whole earl}" military 
operations of the Province of Penns3dvania, and yet it is 
necessary that I shall briefly refer to soine part of them in 



126 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRAMKLIN COUNTY. 

order to understand that 'wliich I wish to elucidate, to wit : 
the early miUiary hi^torij of that section of count ri/ noiv form- 
ing Franklin, county. 

The first battalion, or regiment, that went out of Cumber- 
land count}' was formed in June, 1775, as already stated, and 
was commanded by Colonel William Thompson, of Carlisle, 
Colonel Thompson was born in Ireland, emigrated to America 
and settled near Carlisle, and there followed his profession of 
a surveyor. Prior to the revolution he served in the war be- 
tween England and France, and in the Indian wars. He was 
a commissioned officer in the Indian expedition that destroyed 
Kittanning in 1756, and was captain of a troop of light horse 
in 1758. In 1774 he commanded a company of rangers in 
Westmoreland count}'. He was commissioned colonel of the 
first battalion of Pennsylvania militia 25th June, 1775, and 
brigadier general March 1st, 1770. As has been heretofore 
stated his regiment reached the patriot camp at Cambridge, 
near Boston, August 18th, 1775. Thatcher, in his militaiy 
journal, says of these men: "Several companies of riflemen, 
amounting, it is said, to more than fouiteen hundred men, 
have arrived here from Pennsylvania and Maryland, a distance 
of from five hundred to seven hundred miles. They are re- 
markably stout and hardy men, many of them exceeding six 
feet in height. They are dressed in white frocks or rifle shirts, 
and round hats. These men are remarkable for the accuracy 
of their aim, striking a mark with great certainty at two hun- 
dred yards distance. At a review a company of them, while 
on a quick advance, fired their balls into objects of seven 
inches diameter, at a distance of two hundred and fifty yards. 
They are now stationed on our out lines, and their shot have 
frequently proA^ed fatal to British officers and soldiers who 
exposed themselves to view, even at more than double the 
distance of a common musket shot." General Thompson 
was ordered to Canada in April, 1770, and was captured by 
the British at "Three rivers" on the 4th of July of that year. 
He was paroled and allowed to return to his family in 1777, 
but was not regularly exchanged until the 25tli of October, 
1780. 

Sir Henry Clinton, the eommander-in-chitf of the British 
forces, then released Ceneral Thompson, Colonel Mngaw and 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 127 

Lieutenant Laurens, prisoners in his possession, in excliange 
for Major General De Keidesel, of tlie Brunswick troops, a 
prisoner in our possession. He died on his farm near Carlisle, 
September 3d, 1T81, aged forty-five years, and was buried in 
the grave-yard at Carlisle. 

Robert Magaw. of Carlisle, was major of this battalion, his 
brother Wm. Magaw, of Mercersburg, surgeon, and Kev. 
Samuel Blair chaplain. 

As everj'thing connected with the history of this regiment, 
the first that left the Cumberland Valley^ must undoubtedly 
be of great interest to our people, I here insert an article from 
the pen of Hon. John B. Linn, Deputy Secretary of the Com- 
monwealth, published in the '-'•Philadelphia Weekly Times^' of 
the 14th of April, ISTT. 

THE FLAG OF THE FIRST PENNSYLVANIA REGIMENT 1175-1183. 

"The Historical Societ}- of Pennsylvania has in its tempo- 
rary possession a very interesting relic of the revolution. It 
is the standard of the First Pennsylvania Rifle Battalion, Col- 
onel Wm. Thompson, of Carlisle, which was raised upon the 
reception of the news of the battle of Bunker Hill, and entered 
the trenches in front of Boston on the 8th of August, 1715. 
It was in all the skirmishes in fi'ont of Boston, and before the 
British evacuated that city it was ordered to New York to 
repel their landing there. Colonel Thompson was promoted 
brigadier on the 1st of March, 1776, and Lieutenant Colonel 
Hand, of Lancaster, succeeded him. The term of the bat- 
talion expired on the 30th of June, 1776, but officers and men 
in large numbers re-enlisted for three years or during the war^ 
under Colonel Hand, and the battalion became the First Regi- 
ment of the Continental line. It was at Long Island, White 
Plains, Trenton and Princeton, under Hand. On the 1st of 
April, 1777, Hand was promoted brigadier, and Lieutenant 
Colonel James Chambers, of Chambersburg, became Colonel. 
Under him the regiment fought at Brandywine, Germantown, 
Monmouth and in every other battle and skirmish of the main 
army until he retired the service, January 1st, 1781. 

''Colonel Chambers was succeeded by Colonel Daniel Broad- 
head, and on the 26th of May, 1781, the First Regiment left 
York, Pa., with five others, into Avhich the line was consoli- 



128 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

dated, under the command of General Wajaie, joined Lafay- 
ette at Raccoon Ford on the llappahannock on the 10th of 
June ; fought at Green Springs on tlie 6th of July ; opened 
tlie second parallel at Yorktown, which General Steuben, in 
his division orders of 21st of October, saj's 'he considers as 
the most important part of the siege.' After the surrender 
the regiment went southward with Waj^ne, fought the last bat- 
tle of the war at Sharon, Georgia, May 24, 1T82, entered Sa- 
vannah in triumph on the 11th of July, Charleston on the 14th 
of December, 1782 ; was in camp on James Island, South Caro- 
lina, on the 11th of May, 1783, and only Avheuthe news of the 
cessation of hostilities reached that point was embarked for 
Philadelphia. In its services it traversed ever}^ one of the 
original thirteen States of the Union ; for while in front of 
Boston, October 30th, 1775, Captain Parr was ordered with a 
detachment of this battalion up to Portsmouth, New Hamp- 
shire, to defend that point. I noticed this standard on exhi- 
bition at the Museum during the Centennial, but supposed it 
the banner with a strange device' of some revolutionary mi. 
litia battalion. I identified it the other daj^ at the rooms of 
the Historical Society from a description contained in a letter 
from Lieutenant Colonel Hand to Jasper Yeates, in possession 
of General Hand's granddaughter, Mrs, S. B. Rogers, of Lan- 
caster. It is dated : 

" '•Prospect Hill, 8 March, 177C. — I am stationed at Cobble 
Hill with four companies of our regiment. Two companies, 
Cluggage's and Chambers', were ordered to Dorchester on 
Monday ; Ross' and Lowdon's relieved them yesterday. Every 
regiment is to have a standard and colors. Our standard is to 
be a deep green ground, the device a tiger parti}- enclosed by 
toils, attempting the pass defended by a hunter armed with a 
spear, in white on crimson field ; the motto ''Doonari Nolo.'' " 

"The present owner of the standard, I am told, is Thomas 
Robinson, Esq., grandson of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Rob- 
inson. The latter, it appears by our records, entered the ser- 
vice January 5, 1776, as captain in Colonel Wayne's Fourth 
Pennsylvania (one 3'ear) battalion, served the campaign in 
Canada and was promoted June 7, 1777, lieutenant colonel of 
the First Pennsylvania Continental Line. He served until the 
close of the war and was mustered out of service in 1783 as 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 129 

lieutenant colonel of the Second Pennsylvania. He became 
custodian of the standard because Colonel Broadhead did not 
accompany the regiment South and Colonel Robinson was in 
actual command when the war closed. 

'■'■Harrisburg, April Qth, 1817. John B. Linn." 

In the early part of December, 1775, the second Pennsyl- 
A^ania battalion was formed. It was fii'st under the command 
of Colonel John Bull, and subsequently under that of Colonel 
John Philip DeHaas. 

In the latter part of the year Congress called for four more 
battalions, which were fully organized m January and Febru- 
iir}', 1776. They Avere commanded as follows: 

The second by Colonel Arthur St. Clair. 

The third by Colonel John Shee, 

The fourth by Colonel Anthony Wayne. 

The fifth by Colonel Robert Magaw. 

The sixth by Colonel William Irvine. 

With the regiments of Colonels St. Clair, Shee and Wayne 
the people of this valley had no connection. They were 
raised in other sections of the State. 

Colonel Magaw's regiment was made up of companies from 
what is now Cumberland count}', and from adjoining counties. 
There were none from the territory now embraced in our 
county, that I have been able to hear of. Colonel Magaw and 
his whole command were captured by the British at Fort 
Washington, Long Island, on the 16th of November, 1776, 
and was pai'oled, but not exchanged until the 25th of October, 
1780. He died at Carlisle January 7th, 1790. 

Colonel William Irvine was born at Fermagh, Ireland, on 
the 3d of November, 1741. He was educated at the university 
of Dublin, studied medicine and was a surgeon in the British 
nav}', in 1754. In 1763 he settled at Carlisle in the pursuit of 
his profession. He was a delegate from Cumberland county 
in the Provincial Conference which met at Philadelphia on the 
15th of July, 1774, and recommended a general congress of 
the Colonies. On the 9th of January, 1776, he was appointed 
colonel of the 6th regiment of Pennsylvania troops. On the 
8th of June, 1776, he w^as captured at the battle of "Three 
Rivers," Canada. On the 3d of August, 1776, he was released 
on parole, but was not exchanged until the 6th of May, 1778. 
9 



130 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY, 

The same year he was appointed Colonel of the second Penn- 
sylvania regiment. May 12th, 1719, was appointed a briga- 
dier general and served under General Wayne during that and 
the following year. In 1781 he was stationed at Fort Pitt, in 
command of the north-western frontier. In 1784 he was a 
member of the Council of Censors. In 1785 he was the agent 
of the State looking after her public lands, and recommended 
the purchase of the ''Triangle," thus giving Pennsylvania an 
outlet upon Lake Erie. He was a member of Congress in 1786- 
'88; and of the State Constitutional Convention in 1790. In 
1794 Governor Mifflin appointed him and Chief JusticeM'Kean 
commissioners to reason with the leaders of the whisky insur- 
rection. He also served in Congress from 1793 to 1795 ; was 
president of the "Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati," 
and died at Philadelphia on the 29th of July, 1804. 

Colonel Irvine's regiment was composed of eight companies^ 
numbering six hundred and seventy-nine officers and men, viz : 

Company one. Captain Samuel Hay, Officers and 92 men. 

" two, " Robert Adams, " " 93 " 

" three, " Abraham Smith, " "99 " 

" four, " William Rippey, " " 94 " 

" five, " James A. Wilson, " " 86 " 

" six, " David Grier, " "81 " 

" seven, " Moses M'Lean, " " 65 " 

" eight, " Jeremiah Talbott " " 69 " 

The regimental organization was as follows, viz : 

Colonel, Wm. Irvine, commissioned January 9, lt76.. 

Lieut. Colonel, Thomas Hartley, " " " " 

Major, James Dunlop, " " " " 

Adjutant, John Brooks, " " " " 

Surgeon, Robert Johnston, " " " " 

Surgeon's mate, John M'Dowell. 
Quartermaster, James Calderwood. 

" Wm. Nichols. 

" Robert Hoops. 

But three of these companies, viz : Abraham Smith's, Wil- 
liam Rippey's and Jeremiah Talbott's, are claimed to have 
been from that section of country now embraced in Franklin 
county. 

Captain Abraham Smith, it is said, resided in Lurgan town- 
ship, Cumberland county, just north of the present boundary 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 131 

line of our county. He owned a considerable tract of land 
there, none of which, iiowever, was ever taxed in our county, 
according to the assess books in the Commissioners' office. 
The people of that section of the county point with pride to 
his military record, and claim him as having gone out from 
among them. He and hie company were wnth Colonel Irvine's 
regiment throughout its varied service in the war of the revo- 
lution. Nothing can be determined from the names of thC' 
men composing his comp»any, as to where they were from, for 
an examination of the roll shows that the names upon it are- 
the same as those of residents of other parts of the count}^ 
than Lurgan township. 

On the 5th day of July, 1TT7, an Abraham Smith, of Cum- 
berl'And count}-, was elected Colonel of the 8th battalion of the 
militia of that county, and it is claimed that he was from Lur* 
gan township. How the fact was, I have not been able to de- 
termine. That there were two CoZoneZ Abraham Smiths in Cum- 
berland county is most likely, one the military man, the other 
the civilian. Former writers have generally, though mista- 
kenly, I think, .confounded Abraham Smith, of Zwrgra/i, with 
Abraham Smith of Antrim., and given to the former the honor 
and credit of having filled the offices undoubtedly held by the^ 
latter. 

The following are the names of the officers and men of Cap- 
tain Abraham Smith's company, in Colonel Irvine's regiment : 

COMPANY NO. .3, OP IRVINE'S REGIMENT. 

Captain Abraham Smith ; commissioned January 9th, IttG.. 

First Lieutenant, Robert White ; commissioned January 
9th, 1776; resigned February 9th, 1776. 

Second Lieutenant, John Alexander ; promoted February 
10th, 1776. 

Second Lieutenant, Andrew Irvine ; commissioned Feb. 9th, 
1776. 

Ensign, Samuel Montgomery; promoted June 1st, 1776. 

Ensign, Samuel Kennedy; commissioned June 1st, 1776. 

SERGEANTS. 

John Eeatty, William Scott, 

Samuel Hamilton, William Burk. 

Hugh Foster, 



132 



niSTORICAL SKETCH OP FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



CORPORALS. 



William Burk, 
George Standley, 
John Moore, 
William Campbell, 
John Fannon, Drummer, 



Seth Iliche}^ 
William M'Cormick, 
William Drennon, 
William Cochrane, Fifer. 



PRIVATES. 



David Armor, 
John Brown, 
Patrick Brown, 
.John Blakeley, 
John Brannon, 
Philip Boyle, 
Josiah Cochran, 
Robert Craighead, 
Anthony Creevy, 
William Cochran, 
James Dunlap, 
Thomas Drennon, 
William Downe}^, 
Hugh Drennon, 
Daniel Divinney, 
Pat. Flemming, 
William Gwin, 
Alex. Gordon, 
Bobert Gregg, 
Thomas Higgins, 
James Holliday, 
Thomas Holmes, 
John Hendricks, 
Benj. Ishmail, 
Bobert Jarrett, 
Thomas Johnson, 
Samuel Love, 
■George Lucas, 
Nicholas Little, 
James Lowrey, 
Daniel M'Kissock, 
John M'Collam, 
William M'Cormick, 
Michael M'Garra, 
Bryan M'Laughlin, 
John M'Fetridge, 

Ninety-three 



Michael M'Mullin, 
James M'Kissock, 
Adam M'Breas, 
John M'Dowell, 
Samuel M'Brea, 
Bobert M'llno, 
Alex. M'Kenn}', 
John M'Kingham, 
John Montgomery, 
Alex. Moor, 
Robert Miller, 
Hugh Milligan, 
Moses Powell, 
Nath. Points, 
John Rannell, 
Seth Richey, 
Patrick Rogers, 
John Rannell, Jr., 
Peter Runey, 
Alex. P».eid, 
Barthol Roharty, 
Thomas Smith, 
Patrick Silvers, 
Thomas Scott, 
George Simpson, 
Robert Swinie, 
John Stoops, 
Ad. Sheaver, 
Wi!liam Stitt, 
Peter Sheran, 
Charles Tipper, 
John Todd, 
Mich. White, 
James White, 
John Wilson, 
John Young. 

officers and men. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 135 

In November, 1777, this company was under Captain Samuel 
Montgomer}', and numbered but fort3'-three men — officers and 
privates — the men being captured, or killed, or incorporated 
into other companies. I find the names of many of the men. 
in Captain John Alexander's company. 

COMPANY 4, CAPTAIN WILLIAM RIPPEY. 

Captain Rippey resided in Shippensburg, but the most of the- 
men composing his company were from the adjoining town- 
ship of Lurgan, now in Franklin county. Colonel Irvine's 
regiment, the sixth, with the first under Colonel J. P. DeHaas,. 
the second under Colonel Arthur St. Clair, and the fourth 
under Colonel Anthony Wayne, were formed into a brigade 
in the summer of 1776, and sent to Canada under General 
Sullivan. On the 21st of July, 1776, many of Sullivan's com- 
mand were captured at the Isle Au Noix. Among them was 
Captain Rippey, but he was so fortunate as to escape. Colonel 
Irvine was captured at Three Rivers, Canada, on the 8th of 
June, 1776, when the command of the regiment devolved upon 
Lieutenant Colonel Thos. Hartley, who, after the disaster at 
the Isle Au Noix, fell back to Crown Point and Ticonderoga^ 
and wintered there. These battalions were enlisted for -one 
year from January 1st, 1776, and at the expiration of their 
terms of service, nearly all of the men re-enlisted in new regi- 
ments for three years or during the war. In the month of 
March, 1777, Irvine's regiment re-entered the service as the 
seventh regiment of the Pennsylvania line, under Lieutenant 
Colonel David Greer, its original commander. Colonel Irvine 
then being a prisoner of war. After the close of the war 
Captain Rippey lived at the Branch Hotel in Shippensburg,. 
where he died September 22d, 1819, aged seventy-eight years. 

The following are the names of the officers and men of his^ 
company : 

COMPANY NO. 4, OF IRVINE's REGIMENT. 

Captain, William Rippey; commissioned January 9, 1776. J 
First Lieutenant, Wm. Alexander ; commissioned January 

9th, 1776. Promoted to Captain June 1st, 1776. 

First Lieutenant, Alexander Parker ; commissioned Jun& 

1st, 1776. 



134 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



Second Lieutenant, John Brooks. 
Ensign, Wni. Lusk. 



SERGEANTS. 



John Hughes, 
Robert Watt, 



John M'Clelland, 
William Anderson. 



CORPORALS. 



William Gihhs, 
Jeremiah M'Kibben, 
James M'Culloh, 
Daniel Peterson, Drummer. 



George Gordon, 
Nath. Stevenson, 
Wm. Richards. Fifer. 



PRIVATES 



Jacob Anderson, 
Robert Barckley, 
Barnerd Burns, 
Robert Caskey, 
Henry Cartright, 
Robert Cortney, 
Jacob Christyardinger, 
Benjamin Cochran, 
Hugh Call, 
John Collins, 
William Dougherty, 
John Davison, J 
Joseph Divine, 
Anthony DaAvson, 
Thomas Dycke, 
James Finerty, 
Hugh Forsyth, 
Hugh Ferguson, 
Thomas Falls, 
William Gorge, 
IHenry Girden, 
Tliomas Gell, 
Jacob Glouse, 
JS'athan Hemphill, 
Robert Haslet, 
John Hendry, 
William Henderson, 
James Hervey, 
Cumberland Hamilton, 
^"eal Hardon, 
George Hewitt, 
Jacob Justice, 



Pvobert Irvine, 
John Johnston, 
Christopher Kechler, 
Francis Kain, 
John Kelly, 
William Lowry, 
Daniel Lavery, 
David Linsey, 
James Lj^nch, 
John Madden, 
Josiah M'Call, 
John M'Michael, 
James M'Comb, 
AVilliam M'Intyre, 
John Moor, 
James Mullin, 
Thomas M'Call, 
Philip Melon, 
Alexander M'^S^icliols, 
James M'Coy, 
James M'Con, 
David M'CIain, 
John M'Donell, 
Daniel M'Clain, 
John M'Gaw, 
Charles Malone, 
George M'Ferson, 
William Nicholson, 
John Ortman, 
John O'Neal, 
Thomas Pratt, 
Thomas Parsons, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 135 

Aaron Pattersou, Xath. Stephenson, 

Charles Rosbrough, James Smiley, 

John Rosbrough, William Thomson, 

John Rogers, John Tribele, 

Thomas Reed, Jacob Trash, 

Robert Robeson, John Van Kirk, 

Basil Regan, William Winn, 

John Stoner, John Wright, 

Henry Scott, Peter Young. 

Alexander Stephenson, 

Ninetj^-nine officers and privates. 
Many of these men, in November, ITTt, were incorpoi'ated 
in Captain Alexander Parker's company. 

COMPANY NO. 8, CAPTAIN JEREMIAH TALBOTT. 

This company was recruited in Chambersburg and its vicin- 
ity, by Captain Talbott. He was a native of Talbott county, 
Maryland, and removed to Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, 
before the commencement of the revolutionary struggle, and 
settled at Chambersburg. On the 25th of September, 177T, 
Captain Talbott was appointed major of the sixth battalion of 
the Pennsylvania troops, and served in that position until the 
proclamation of peace. In March or April, IV^t, Major Tal- 
bott was assigned to the recruiting service, and such was his 
popularity that in a few weeks he enlisted sixty men in Cham- 
iDersburg and its vicinity, paying a bounty of twenty dollars to 
each recruit. 

After the close of the war, upon the formation of our county, 
Major Talbott was, at the first election for county officers, 
held October, 1184, elected sheriff of the county, and was re- 
elected in 1Y85 and in 1186. On the 3d December, 1V8Y, he 
was appointed lieutenant of the county, and served until 1790. 
Sheriff Talbott owned the brewery on the btink of the Conoco- 
cheague creek now carried on by Charles Ludwig. He also 
owned two lots of ground on west Qeeen street — one improved, 
the other unimproved. His dwelling house was on the site of 
that now owned and occupied by Judge John Huber. It was 
of stone, and part of the western wall is still standing, having 
been used in the erection of the present dwelling. In addi- 
tion to this property, Sheriff Talbott owned a tract of one hun- 
dred acres of land in Hamilton township, and had one horse, 



136 niSTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

three cows and one female negro servant. The tax lists for 
1786-1788 and 1789, show that he then resided in Chambers- 
burg, as he was taxed there during those 3'ears for all the fore- 
going propert}', except the one hundred acres of land. About 
1789 Sheriff Talbott became pecuniarily involved, and on the 
16th of December, 1789, Sheriff John Johnston, his successor, 
sold his Hamilton township farm, and on the 17th of June, 1790^ 
sold his Chambersburg property. He died on the 19th of Jan- 
uary, 1791, and was buried in the Presbyterian grave-yard at 
Chambersburg. After his death his widow and children re- 
moved to the vicinit}' of Mercersburg, but he never resided 
there, nor at Greencastle. 

The following are the rolls of his company at three different 
periods : 

COMPANY NO. 8, OF IRVINE's REGIMENT. 

Captain, Jeremiah Talbott; commissioned Jan. 9fch, 1776. 
First Lieutenant, John M'Donald ; " " " 

Second Lieutenant, Alex. Brown ; " " " 

Ensign, William Graham; " " " 

SERGEANTS. 

John M'Collam, James Cuppels, 

John Wilson, Samuel Mitchell. 

CORPORALS. 

William Campbell, John Chain, 

llobert Hunter, John Reniston, 

John Milton, Drummer. John Killin, Fifer. 

PRIVATES. 

Robert Asten, Hugh P^airess, 

John Bradley, James Gardner, 

William Black, Daniel Gibson, 

John Church, William Heaslett, 

George Coghren, John Heatherington, 

' — Francis Clark, Duke Handlon, 

Robert Carnahan, John Higgens, 

Charles Conna, Kern Kelley, 

John Campbell, Stephen Lyon, 

Joseph Chambers, Jacob Lewis, 

John Dinning, Hugh Lilley, 

William Evans, John Marten, 

John Faulkner, Robert Mollon, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



13T 



Benj. Morison, 
James M'Farlan, 
Charles M'Roim. 
Archibald M'Donald, 
Matthew M'Connell, 
Thomas M'Creary, 
Lawrence M'Crear}*, 
Charles M'Mullen, 
Thomas Mitchell, 
Charles Marry, 
Patrick Marra}', 
Able Morgan, 
Archibald Nickel, 
Andrew Pinkerton, 



John Pollock, 
James Qnarrc, 
William Shaw, 
Mike Sesalo, 
John Slioomaker, 
James Sloan, 
John Totton, 
John Thompson, 
Hncrh Thompson, 
William White, 
John White, 
John Welch, 
Robert Watson, 
Isaac Wiley. 



Samuel Power, 
Commissioned and non-commissioned officers and privates, 
69. 

In January, 1776, Captain Talbott's Company numbered 
sixty-nine officers and men. By April, 1777, it was so much 
reduced that it required sixty men to bring it up to the regu- 
lation standard. The following are the names of the men 
then added to the company, viz. : 
John M'Cullum, 



John Foster, 
John Wilson, 
Robert Hunter, 
William Gibbs, 
Thomas Whitely, 
Hugh Thomson, 
William Foster, 
Phelix O'Neal, 
John Crowl, 
John Fulerton, 
Patt. Boyle, 
Thomas Sherry, 
John Cavenaugh, 
Robert Burns, 
Andrew M'Gahey, 
William M'Calley, 
Isaac Shackey, 
Christopher Row, 
Francis O'Harrah, 
Thomas Dunn, 
Daniel M'Cartey, 
Barney M'Gillegan, 



John Fergison, 
Michael Black, 
John Brown, 
Gilbert Berryhill, 
Hugh Casserty, 
Charles Conner, 
George Corohan, 
Edward Hart, 
John Shoemaker, 
James Garlant, 
James Loe, 
Jacob Weaver, 
Conrad Carcass, 
Patrick Murrey, 
John Kellenough, 
John Johnson, 
Charles Kelly, 
John M'Kinley, 
Michael Sitsler, 
John Smith, 
Peter Smith, 
Joseph West, 
Patrick Guinn, 



188 niSTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Patrick M'Cullum, William M'Donald, 

Michael Danfee, Patrick Boyle, 

William Campbell, James Ralls, 

John Feaghander, Henry Yaughan, 

John Robinson, John Milton, 

Peter M'Kinley, Michael Brown, 

John Smith, (tanner), William Antrican. 
Thomas Aston, 

The following is the company's roll as it stood Xovember 
30th, 1T77: 

Jeremiah Talbott, Captain, Robert Hunter, Sergeant, 

Andrew Irvine, Lieut.. Thomas Whiteley, '' 

Joseph Torrence, '' Hugh Thompson, " 

John M'Cullam, fJnsign, John Smith, CorporaL 
AVilliam Gibbs, Sergeant, 

PRIVATES. 

Jacob Weaver, Patrick Marry, 

Francis O'Hara, Felix O'Xeal, 

Charles Conner, Charles Kelley, 

AVilliam Foster, James Rawls, 

Daniel M'Carty, George Coghran, 

Jos. West, James Lee, 

Hugh Cassady, John Johnston, 

John M'Kinly, Andrew M'Grahy, 

Michael Pitzler, Edward Hart, 

Patt. Boyle, John C array. 

Nine officers and twenty men ; total, twenty-nine. 
In the early part of 17 76 three new battalions were organ- 
ized, commanded respectively by Colonels Samuel Miles, Sam- 
uel J. Atlee and Daniel Broadhead, and they were marched to 
Long Island with the battalions of Colonels Shea, Magaw and 
Cadwallader. 

By the 16th of August, 1776, thirteen companies of men, 
fully officered and equipped, had left Cumberland county for 
the seat of war, and six other companies were preparing to go. 
Of these the companies of James M'Connell, William Huston, 
Robert Culbertson and Conrad Schneider were from the ter- 
ritory now Fz-anklin county. I have not been able to find 
their company rolls, nor any record of their actions during the 
war. 

On the 16th of IS'ovember, 1776, Fort Washington was cap- 
tured by the British, and over twenty-three hundred Pennsyl- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 139 

vania troops, commanded by Colonels Magaw, Cadwallader, 
Atlee, Swope, Watts and Montgomery, were taken prisoners. 
Among them was John Crawford, of our county, a brother of 
Edward Crawford, Esq., our first prothonotary. On the 19th 
of April, 1T55, Mr. Crawford was commissioned by John Mor- 
ton, Esq., Speaker of the Pennsylvania Assembl}', a second 
lieutenant in the fifth battalion of associators of Cumberland 
county, and after his capture was held as a prisoner of war at 
riatlands. Long Island, until some time in the year 1780. 

In the latter part of the year IT 76, or the beginning of the 
year 1777, the first battalion of Cumberland county militia 
was commanded by Colonel James Dunlap. The lieutenant 
colonel was Robei't Culbertson, of our county. This battalion 
had in it the companies of Noah Abraham, of Path Valley 
Patrick Jack, of Hamilton, and Charles Maclay, of Lurgan. 
I have not been able to find the rolls of the companies of Cap- 
tains Jack and Maclay, but Captain Abraham's company, 
which was from all parts of Path Valley, was made up as fol- 
loxvs, viz : 

Captain, Noah Abraham, 

First Lieutenant, Archibald Elliott, 

Second Lieutenant, Samuel Walker. 

SERGEANTS. 

1st. James M'Conaughy, .3d. Robert M'Connell, 

2d. Joseph Noble, 4th. Thomas Clark. .^ 

PRIVATES. 

Robert Alexander, James Carmady, 

James Alexander, Samuel Campbell, 

David Armstrong, Patrick Davidson, 

John Adams, Andrew Douglas, Sr., 

William Adams, Patrick Dougherty, 

James Allen, Henry Delmer, 

John Brown, Alex. Douglas, (weaver,) 

James Boggs, Greorge Dixson, 

Nathaniel Bryan, Abi'am Elder, 

Allen Brown, Francis Elliott, 

William Buchanan, William Elliott, 

John Bell, David Elder, 

Daniel Colbert, Samuel Elder, 

William Carty, George Farmer, 

John Canady, John Garven, 



140 niSTOPJCAL SKETCH OP FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Charles Gibson, Hugh M'Ciirdy, 

James Harvey, Alexander M'Connell, 

James Howe, James Mitchell, 

Andrew Hemphill. John M'Lellan, Jr., 

William Harvey. Samuel Mears, 

Henderson Harvey. James Mackey, 

Alex. Hopper, Robert M'Guire, 

Adam Ilumburg, Henry M'Gee, 

John Johnson, John'Mackey, 

Joseph Kilgore, John Montgomery, 

Alex. Long. James Nealv, 

William M'Lellan, David Neal,"' 

William M'Ibbins, James Park, 

John M'Lellan; Henry Varner, 

John Means, • William Wright, 

Nathan M'Colley, Robert Walker, 

James Montgomery, Samuel Watson, 

Alexander Meor, William Woodrow, 

Samuel M'Cauley, Samuel Woodrow. 
James M'Lellan, 

The second battalion, commanded bv Colonel John Davis, 
had in it the companv of Captain Charles Leeper, of Lurgau 
township. 

The fourth battalion, commanded by Colonel Samuel Lj'on, 
had in it the company of Captain James M'Connel, of Letter- 
kenny. 

The sixth battalion was officered as follows, viz : Samuel 
Culbertson, Colonel ; John Work, Lieutenant Colonel ; James 
M'Cammont, Major; John Wilson, Adjutant ; Samuel Fiuley, 
quartermaster, and Richard Brownson, Surgeon, 

Company No. 2, of this battalion, had the following officers : 
Captain, Patrick Jack ; First Lieutenant, William Reynolds ; 
Second Lieutenant, James M'Lene ; Ensign, Francis Gardner. 
This company was from Hamilton township. 

Company No. 3. the following : Captain, Samuel Patton ; 
First Lieutenant, John Eaton ; Second Lieutenant, David 
Shields; Ensign, William Pv^amsay. This company, I believe,, 
was from Letterkenny townsliip. 

Company No. 4, the following : Captain, James Patton ; 
First Lieutenant, Thomas M'Dowell ; Second Lieutenant, 
John Welsh ; Ensign, John Dickey. This. company was most 
likely from Peters township. 



IIISTOmCAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 141 

Company No. 5, the following: Captain, Joseph Culbert- 
son ; First Lieutenant, John Barr ; Second Lieutenant, Wil- 
liam Cessna ; Ensign, Hugh Allison. This company was from 
Lurgan township. 

Company No. G, the following: Captain, Vv^illiam Huston; 
First Lieutenant, William Elliott'; Second Lieutenant, James 
M'Farland ; Ensign Robert Kyle. This company is believed 
to have been from Montgomery, Peters and Hamilton town- 
ships. It was to this company that the Rev. Dr. John King, 
of Mercersburg, made a patriotic address as they were about 
to leave their homes for the battle-field. 

Company No. 1, the following ; Captain, Robert M'Coj ; 
First Lieutenant, James Irwin ; Second Lieutenant, Samuel 
Dunwoody ; Ensign, Walter M'Kinney. This company was 
from Peters township. 

Company No. 8, the following : Captain, John M'Connell ; 
First Lieutenant, Joseph Stevenson ; Second Lieutenant, 
George Stevenson ; Ensign, James Caldwell. This company 
was from Letterkenny and Lurgan townships. 

The eighth battalion, commanded by Colonel Abraham 
Smith of our count}^, had for Lieutenant Colonel, James John- 
ston ; Major, John Johnston; Adjutant, Thomas Johnston, 
and Quartermastei', Terrance Campbell, the last four of whom 
were of this county. 

Four of _^the companies of this battalion were from our 
county, certainly, and perhaps more. The company officers 
were as follows, viz : 

Company No. I, Waynesboro' — Captain, Samuel Royer ; 
First Lieutenant, Jacob Foreman ; Second Lieutenant, John 
Ptiddlesberger ; Ensign, Peter Shaver. 

Company No. 2, Lurgan township — Captain, John Jack ; 
First Lieutenant, James Brotherton ; Second Lieutenant, 
Daniel M'Lene ; Ensign, James Drummond. 

Company No. 3, Antrim township — Captain, James Poe ; 
First Lieutenant, Jos. Patterson ; Second Lieutenant, Jacob 
Stotler ; Ensign, James Dickson. 

Company No. 8, Lurgan township — Captain, John Rea ; 
First Lieutenant, Albert Torrence ; Second Lieutenant, Alex. 
Thomson ; Ensign, Hugh Wiley. 

No rolls can be found of these several battalions, nor can I 



142 



HISTORICAL SKETCU OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



tell where their services were rendered. I have seen returns 
of them as late as May, 1778, but cannot say when their ser- 
vices ceased. 

In the year 1779, because of some troubles witlithe Indians, 
some troops w^ere sent from our county westward. They 
"were mustered into service on the 22d of June of that year, 
at Ligonier, by Colonel John Thomson, D. M, M. G. of P. M. 
The following is the roll of the company from Path Valley : 

Captain, Noah Abraham. 

First Lieutenant, Nathaniel Stevenson. 

Second Lieutenant, Adam Ilarman. 



SERGEANTS. 



Joseph Ferguson, 
Campbell Lefever, 



James Hamilton, 
John Roatch. 



PRIVATES. 



Daniel Colbert, 
Neal Dougherty, 
Fred'k Dougherty, 
Patrick Dougherty-, 
Thomas Knox, 
Daniel Lavre}', 
William Love, 
Redmond M'Donough, 
Matthias Maiers, 

The following are the officers and men of the company from 
Letterkenny : 

Captain, Samuel Patton. 

First Lieutenant, Ezekiel Sample. 



John Maghan, 
John Millis^n, 
James Megraw, 
Isaac Miner, 
James Russell, 
John Robison, 
James Ray, 
William Walker. 



SERGEANTS. 



John Kincaid, 



John Bran, 
Thomas Crotley, 
Richard Cooper, 
George Hunter, 
Samuel Howard, 
John Hart, 
William Lowry, 
George Lamb, 
John Lytle, 



William Speare. 



PRIVATES. 



Henry Marshal, l\ V^^ 
John Matthiasweaver, 
Lorans M'Ready, 
John Parker, 
William Patterson, 
Ab'm Rosenberry, 
William Sharpe, 
John Welsh, 
Henry Williamson. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 143 

It is impossible to tell how many men our county furnished 
in the Revolutionary struggle for Independence. The number 
was, however, very large for the population. Whenever the 
country called, they went with alacrit}', and wherever the foe 
was to be met, there were our hardy and fearless frontiersmen 
found. 

"They left tlie ploughshare in the mould, 

Their fl<.icks and herds without a fold, 

The sickle in the unshorn grain, 

The corn, half garner'd in the plain, 

And muster'd, in their simple dress. 

For wrongs to seek a stern redress ; — 

To right tliose wrongs, come weal, come woe, — 

To perish, or o'ercome the foe."' 

THE WHISKY INSURRECTION. 

In the year 1794 President Washington called for five thou- 
sand one hundred and ninety-six men from Pennsylvania, as 
her share of the army called out to suppress the Whisky In- 
surrection, then in existence in the south-western part of our 
State. The quota of our county was two hundred and eighty- 
one men, who were gotten together with considerable difficulty, 
because the mass of the people of this valley sympathized to a 
greater or less degree with their fellow-citizens who were re- 
sisting the collection of the excise taxes. 

Our quota was, however, furnished after some delay ; but I 
cannot tell into how many companies these men w^ere divided, 
nor by whom they were commanded. Having been in the ser- 
vice of the United States, they were doubtless paid by the 
general government, and their pay rolls should be in the War 
Department at Washington city, but I could not find them 
there, nor any evidence that they ever had been there. Nei- 
ther could I find them at Harrisburg, though a careful search 
was made for them. Large numbers of papers in the War De- 
partment at Washington city were destroyed by fires about 
the years 1798 and 1801, as I am informed, and it is believed 
that those relating to the army services in the Whisky Insur- 
rection were among them. 

Brigadier General James Chambers, of our county, com- 
manded the third brigade of the Pennsylvania troops in the 
Whisky Insurrection. It was composed of one thousand seven 
hundred and sixty-two men, five hundred^ and sixty-eight of 



144 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

whom were from Lancaster count}^, five hundred and fifty 
from York, three hundred and sixt3--three from Cumberland, 
and two hundred and eighty-one from Franklin county. The 
troops marched to Pittsburg, were in service about one months 
marched back again and were discharged, without having fired 
a shot or lost a man. 

THE WAR OF 1812-'I4. 

The war with England for the establishment of the right of 
the vessels belonging to the people of the United States to 
navigate the waters of the world without molestation from any 
foreign power, was declared by Congress on the 12th of June, 
1812. Before that time the British government had claimed 
authority to search all merchant vessels found upon the high 
seas, to ascertain what kinds of goods, wares and merchandise 
they carried ; and to seize and impress all such seamen found 
upon them as were claimed to be natives of the British Empire, 
or at some previous period owed allegiance to the British 
government. 

This claim the government of the United States resisted, as 
unfounded under the laws of nature and of nations, and the 
English government persisting in exercising the right, not^ 
withstanding the remonstrances of the United States authori- 
ties, Congress declared war, and called upon the people of the 
country to rally to the defence of "free trade and sailors' 
rights." 

The hardy yeomanry of this valley responded with alacrity 
to the call of the constituted authorities of the nation. Like 
their patriot sires of the days of 1T16, they were ready and 
eager for the contest, and during the years 1812, 1813 and 
1814 thirteen companies of men were organized within our 
county and went into service . 

Even before the formal declaration of war Avas proclaimed 
b}" the President, "the Franklin County Light Dragoons," 
forty-one officers and men, under Captain Matthew Patton ; the 
"Mercersburg Rifles," seventy-two officers and men, under Cap- 
tain James M'Dowell ; the "Concord Light Infantry-," thirty offi- 
cers and men, under Captain Michael Harper ; the "Chambers- 
burg Union Yoluntecrs," fifty-one otHcers and men, under Cap- 
tain Jeremiah Snider,and the "Antrim Greens," (riflemen,) sixty 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 145 

■officers and men, under Captain Andrew Oaks, through Major 
William M'Clellan, the Brigade Inspector of this county, ten- 
dered their services to Governor Simon Snyder, as part of any 
quota of troops that might be called for from Pennsylvania. 

Three several detachments of troops left our county during 
the war of 1812-'14, at three different periods. The first left 
about the 5th of September, 1812, and was composed of the 
"Union Volunteers," of Chambersburg, under Captain Jere- 
miah Snider ; the "Franklin Riflemen," of Chambersburg, 
under Captain Henry Reges ; the "Concord Light Infantiy," 
under Captain Michael Harper ; the "Mercersburg Rifles," 
under Captain Patrick Hays, and the "Antrim Greens," under 
Captain Andrew Oaks — total, two hundred and sixty-four oflS- 
cers and men. The quota of our county was five hiindred and 
seven officers and men, and the deficiency, two hundred and 
forty, was made up by a draft from the militia. The whole 
detachment was under the command of Major "William M'Clel- 
land, the Brigade Inspector of the county, and marched to the 
north-western frontier by way of Bedford, Pittsburg and Mead- 
"ville, which latter place was reached about the 20th or 25th of 
September, 1812. There the assembled troops were organized 
into four regiments, two of riflemen and two of infantry. Of 
the first regiment of riflemen Jared Irwin was elected colonel, 
and of the second regiment William Piper was elected colonel. 
Of the first regiment of infantry Jeremiah Snider was elected 
colonel, and of the second regiment John Purviance was elected 
colonel. These four regiments were formed into a brigade 
under the command of Brigadier General Adamson Tannahill. 
Dr. Samuel D. Culbertson, of Chambersburg, was appointed 
Surgeon-in-Chief of the brigade, and Dr. George Denig Assist- 
ant Surgeon. 

Upon the election of Captain Jeremiah Snider to the colo- 
nelcy of the first regiment, his lieutenant, John M'Clintock, 
was elected captain of his company, and George K. Harper 
was promoted to the position of lieutenant, vacated by Captain 
M'Clintock. 

The Roster of the first regiment after its formation was as 
follows : 

Colonel, Jeremiah Snider. Quartermaster, Bernard Wolff. 

First Major, James Warner. Sergeant Major, And. Lindsay. 
10 



146 HISTORICAL SKETCH OP FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Second Major, John Scott. Forage Master, H. Greenfield. 
Surgeon, Samuel D. Culbertson.Wagon Master, Stephen Rigler.. 
Adjutant, Owen Aston. 

The companies of Captains M'Clintock, Reges and Harper 
were in Colonel Snider's regiment, and those of Captains 
Oaks and Ha^'sin Colonel Jared Irwin's regiment. After the 
organization of the brigade it marched to Buffalo, about the 
middle of October, 1812, and arrived there in November. It 
remained at Buffalo, in winter quarters, until some time in the 
month of Januar}^, 1813, when the men were discharged. 

The following are the rolls of Captains Jeremiah Snider's and 
Henry Rege's companies, as they were when the}^ left Cham- 
bersburg, September 5th, 1812 : 

CHAMBEBSBURG COMPANY, SEPTEMBER 5th, 1812. 

Captain, Jeremah Snider. 
Lieutenant, John M'Clintock. 
Ensign, Owen Aston. 

SERGEANTS. 

First, John Stevenson, Third, John Colhoun, 

Second, Alex. Allison, Fourth, Andrew Colhoun, 

CORPORALS. 

First, Robert Haslett, Third, H. Ruthrauff, 

Second, William Tillard, Fourth, John Reed. 

MUSICIANS. 

William Donaldson, Henry Bickney. 

PRIVATES. 

Timothy Allen, Hugh Greenfield, 

John Andrews, George Heist, 

Joseph Barnett, Horace Hill, 

Samuel Beatty, John Hunter, 

David Blythe, Thomas Harvey, 

A. L. Grain, Daniel Hood, 

Andrew Clunk, John Hutchinson, 

Daniel Clouser, Andrew Lindsay, 

John Cummings, Spencer M'Kinney„ 

Robert Foot, James Murray, 

George Faber, Alex. M'Connell, 

Isaac Grier, Elisha Nabb, 

Peter Glossbrenner, Jacob Phillipy, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 147 

John Pluinmer, William Taylor, 

Stephen Rigler, Joshua Wilson, 

William Shannon, James Wilson, 

George Simpson, David Wilson, 

Moses PI. Swan, Bernard Wolfi". 

CHAMBERSBURG COMPANY, SEPTEMBER 5th, 1812. 

Captain, Herny Reges. 
First Lieutenant, Jeremiah Senseny^ 
Second Lieutenant, John Musser. 
First Sergeant, Peter Fleck. 

PRIVATES. 

John Boyle, Hugh Mannon, 

John Baughman, Hugh M'Connell,, 

Robert Cunningham, Hugh M'Anulty, 

John Cook, John Martin, 

Edward Crawford, Benjamin Matthews, 

Arthur Dobbin, James M'Connell, 

John Denig. William Pollack, 

John Essig, Richard Runnion,, 

Isaac Erwin, John Radebaugh,^ 

John Favorite, John Robinson, 

John Gelwicks, John Reill}^, 

William Grice, Jacob Snyder, 

Joseph Good, Joseph Stall, 

John Gilmore, Henry Smith, 

Philip Grim, Thompson SchoolSy^ 

Christian John, Joseph Severns, 

George W. Lester, Daniel Sailer, 

Josiah Lemon, John Whitney, 

Isaiah Lamer, James Wise, 

Robert M'Murray, George Wilson,, . 

John Mumma, George Zimmerman^ 

GREENCASTLE COMPANY, SEPTEMBER 5tH, 1812. 

Captain, Andrew Oaks. 
Lieutenant, Thomas Wilson. 
Ensign, George Zeigler. 

SERGEANTS. 

First, Peter Cramer, Third, Jacob Fletter^ 

Second, Jacob Gudtner, Fourth, James PenneL 

CORPORALS. 

First, William Dugan, Third, Jacob Garresene., 

Second, George Sharer, Fourth, Thomas Brady, 

Fifer, Henry Sites, Drummer, Jacob Poper. 



148 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRAKKLIN COUNTY. 



PRIVATES. 



Ileniy Brendlinger, 
Joseph Byerly, 
George Bettes, 
AVilliam lioltoii, 
Sanmel Beiidei', 
"William Carroll, 
Patrick Dugan, 
Evan Evans, 
"William Foster, 
Thomas Fletcher, 
John Gaff, 
"William Gordon, 
John Garner, 
Ixichard Keller, 
Samuel Martin, 



James M 'Curdy, 

Samuel AI'Laughlin, 
William Ovelman, 
Thomas I'lummer, 
John Snyder, 
AVilliam Scull}', 
Jolm Sreader, 
George Stutf, 
Samuel Smith, 
George Shaffer, 
George Uller. 
Christian Wilhelm, 
Samuel Weidner, 
Daniel Weidner. 



MEBCERSBURG COMPANY, SEPTEMBER 5X11, 1812. 

Captain, Patrick Hays. 
Lieutenant, John Small. 
Ensign, Samuel Elder. 



SERGEANTS. 



First, James M'Quown, 
Second, Jacob Small, 



Third, Jacob Williams, 
Fourth, George Spangler. 



CORPORALS. 



Eirst, Joseph Herington, 
Second, John Donothen, 
Fifer, John Mull, 



Third, Daniel Leer, 
Fourth, Jacob Cain, 
Drummer, Jacob Wise. 



PRIVATES. 



James Bennet, 
Isaac Brubaker, 
Samuel Craig, 
Joseph Cunningham, 
■John Crouch, 
John Clapsaddle, 
Henry Cline, 
William Cooper, 
Samuel Campbell, 
Alex. Dunlap, 
Frederick Divelbiss, 
David Deitrick, 
John Dunlap, 
James Elder, 



Peter Gaster, 
Jacob Groscope, 
John Harris, 
Jacob Hodskins, 
Jonas Hissong, 
William Hart, 
John Hallin, 
John Hastier, 
John Heart, 
James Halland, 
Abraham Hodskins, 
Peter Kyler, 
John King, 
Robert M'Quown, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 149 

Robert M'Farland, Charles Pettet, 

William M'Quown, Henry SiifTecool, 

John Mowr}', William Suftecool, 

James M'Dowell, William Stewart^ 

Charles MTike, Peter Teach, 

Campbell Montgomery, Henry Weaver, 

William M'Curdy, Daniel Welker,, 

Samuel Martin, James Walker, 

PATH VALLEY COMPANY, SEPTEMBER StH, 1812. 

Captain, Michael Harper. 
Lieutenant, William M'Kinzie. 
Ensign, John Campbell. 

SERGEANT?. 

First, William Irwin, Third, John Widney,, 

Second, James M'Kinzie, Fourth, Hugh Barrack. 

CORPORALS. 

First, Jeremiah Baker, Third, Samuel Campbell, 

Second', Francis M'CuUough, Fourth, James Ginnevin. 

PRIVATEP. 

John Cannon, George Irwin, 

Joseph Dever, James Linn, 

Barnabas Donnelly, Samuel Phillips, 
David Evans, ' Isaac Scooly, 

Barnabas Fegan, William Smith, 

Jer. Hockenberry, Richard Scott, 

James Hockenberry, James Taylor, 

Peter Hockenberry, Peter Timmons. 

In the early part of the year 1814, the General Government 
having made a call upon the State of Pennsylvania for more 
troops. Governor Simon Snyder, about the beginning of Feb- 
ruary of that year, ordered a draft for 1,000 men from the 
counties of York, Adams, Franklin and Cumberland — Cum- 
berland county to raise 500 men, and the other counties the 
balance. The qviota of Franklin county was ordered to as- 
semble at Loudon on the 1st of March, 1814. What was its 
exact number I have not been able to ascertain. 

At that time Captain Samuel Dunn, of Path Valley had a 
small volunteer company under his command, numbering 
about forty men. These, I am informed, volunteered to go as 
part of the quota of the county, and were accepted. Drafts 



150 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FHANKLIN COUNTY. 

were then made to furnish the balance of the quota, and one 
full company of drafted men, under the command of Captain 
Samuel Gordon, of Waynesburg, and one partial company, 
under the command of Captain Jacob Stake, of Lurgan town- 
ship, were organized and assembled at Loudon in pursuance 
of the orders of the Governor. There the command of the 
detachment was assumed by Major William M'Lellan, brigade 
Inspector of the county, who conducted it to Erie. It moved 
from Loudon on the 4th of March, and was twent3^-eight days 
in reaching Erie. According to Major M'Clelland's report on 
file in the Auditor General's office at Ilarrisburg, it was com- 
posed of one major, three captains, five lieutenants, two en- 
signs and two hundred and twenty-one privates. 

Dr. Wm. C. Lane, in a note, sa}" s : " Captain Jacob Stake 
lived along the foot of the mountain, between Roxbury and 
.Strasburg. He went as captain of a company of drafted 
men, as far as Erie, at which place his company was merged 
into those of Captains Dunn and Gordon, as the commissions 
of those officers anti-dated his commission, and there were 
not men enough in their companies to fill them up to the re- 
quired complement." 

Upon the arrival of these troops at Erie, and their organi- 
zation into companies, they were put into the fifth regiment 
of the Pennsylvania troops, commanded by Colonel James 
Eenton. Of that regiment, James Wood, of Greencastle, 
was major, and Thomas Poe, of Antrim township, adjutant, 
the whole army being under the command of Major General 
Jacob Brown. 

Adjutant Poe is reputed to have been a gallant officer, one 
to whom fear was unknown. On one occasion he quelled a 
mutiny among the men in camp, unaided by any other person. 
The mutineers afterwards declared that they saw death in his 
•eyes when he gave them the command to "return to quarters." 
He fell mortally wounded at the battle of Chippewa, July 6th, 
1814, and died shortly afterwards. 

The following is a copy of the roll of the company of Cap- 
tain Dunn, on file in the War Departmant at Washington 
City: 

Captain, Samuel Dunn, March 1st, 1814. 
First Lieutenant, James M'Connell. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



151 



Second Lieutenant, Robert Foot. 
Third Lieutenant, John Favorite. 
Ensign, William Geddes. 



SERGEANTS. 



First, John Snively, 
Second, Samuel Baker, 



Third, James M'Henry, 
Fourth. John M. Shannon. 



CORPORALS. 



First, Thompson Schools, 
Second, William Nevill, 



Third, John Witherow, 
Drummer, John Boggs, 



PRIVATES. 



Levi Black, 
John Brandt, 
Jesse Beams, 
George Bryan, 
Frederick Boreaugh, 
Anthon}^ Bates, 
John Barclay, 
John Brewster, 
Hugh Baker, 
John Beat}', 
William Buchanan, 
Andrew Barclay, 
James Connor, 
Samuel Ci'eamer, 
John Cunningham, 
James Compton, 
Barnabas Clark, 
Thomas Cummings, 
Benjamin Davis, 
Samuel Davenport, 
John Doyle, 
James Elliott, 
Robert Elder, 
Joseph Fingerty, 
Abraham Flagie, 
Jacob Frush, 
Jere Gift, 
Hugh Henderson, 
Nehemiah Harvey, 
Edward Heil, 
Henry Halby, 
Thomas Hays, 



* Robert Hunter, 
John Humbert, 
Henry Hess, 
Robert Johnston, 
Enoch Johns, 
John Krotzer, 
James Keever, 
Michael Kester, 
James Kirkwood, 
Benjamin Long, 
David Lightner, 
Tobias Long, 
Noah Macky, 
John M'Connell, 
Robert M'Connell, 
James Morehead, 
John M'Dowell, 

f Adam Myers, 
George Macomb, 
John Miller, 
William M'Clure, 
Samuel Mateer, 
William Moore, 
John Marshal, 
James M'Kim, 
Absalom M'llwee, 
John Murray, 
Joseph Noble, 
John Noble, 
John Over, 
Joseph Phipps, 
Thomas Penwell, 



^Afterwards Colonel of the 50th Regiment. fStill living. 



152 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

George Plucher, John Stewart, 

Mathias Panther, Barney Shiptou, 

William Reed, John Stake, 

Charles Kunion, David Trindle, 

William Ramsay, William Woods, 

Philip Roan, Richard Wright, 

Jacob Stevick, John Walkei-, 

Peter Shell, George Wrist, 

Samuel Swope, William Williams, 

John Shell, William Westcott, 

John Smith, John Young, 

John Swanger, Robert Young, 

Jacob Staley, John Young, "■ 

William Sheets, *Jacob Zettle, 

"This company," says Dr. Lane, "was originally armed witb. 
rifles. These were exchanged at Erie for regulation muskets.. 
The company was at the battles of Chippewa and Lundy's 
Lane, and guarded British prisoners from the frontier to 
Greenbush, now Alban}^, New York. These prisoners num- 
bered more than 220 privates and 22 officers — among the latter 
General Royal. Dunn lost men in both of the battles named,, 
was in service with his company for about seven mouths, and 
"was mustered out at Albany, New York." 

The following is a copy of the roll of Captain Gordon's com- 
pany, also on file in the War Department at Washington city : 

"SVAYNESBURG COMPANY, MARCH IST, 1814. 

Captain, Samuel Gordon. 
First Lieutenant, William Dick. 
Second Lieutenant, William Patton. 
Third Lieutenant, James Burns. 
Ensign, William Miller. 

SERGEANTS. 

First, Hugh Davison, Third, James Scott, 

Second, Charles Miller, Fourth, Josiah Gordon. 

CORPORALS. 

First, Joseph Arthur, Third, John Podman, 

Second, James Hall, Fourth, Philip Mason, 

Drummer, Joseph Shilling, Fifer, William Burgiss. 

*Still living. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY, 



153 



PRIVATES, 



Thomas Allen, 
William Alsip, 
Martin Beard, 
Henry Bauc:^hcr, 
Benjamiji Bump, 
George Burr, 
Frederick Beverson, 
John Baker, 
Michael Borer, 
Jacob Baker, 
Peter Baker, 
Michael Bear, 
Adam Brown, 
Conrad Croft, 
John Coon, 
John Craig, 
Richard Cahil, 
William Clem, 
John Carver, 
William Clark, 
Richard Donahue, 
William Divelbiss, 
John Dowman, 
Edward Detrick, 
George Davis, 
Samuel Dean, 
Jacob Decmer, 
John Davis, 
Adam Duncan, 
Jacob Eby, 
George Ensminger, 
William Edwards, 
Nathaniel Tips, 
Joseph Flora, 
John Fisher, 
Michael Fritz, 
Henry Geiger, 
George Glaze, 
Moses Getrich, 
John Greenl}^, 
John Graham, 
John Huber, 
Joseph Hoffman, 
William Hardin, 
George Harmon}-, 



James Hardy, 
John Hawk, 
Peter Harger. 
John Irwin, 
David Johnston, 
John Jefferey, 
IS'athaniel King, 
Jacob Keefer, 
William Kline. 
William King, 
Peter Keefer, 
Matthew King, 
James Logan, 
Benjamin Lewis, 
Jacob Liepert, 
John M'Colley, 
John M'Conuell, 
Alexander M'MuUen, 
Peter Myers, 
William Miller, 
John M'Neal, 
John M'Clay, 
Philip Myers, 
William Mahaffy, 
Murdock Mitchell, 
JohnM'Curdy, 
Robert M'Clelland, 
Daniel Mentzer, 
G. M. Miller, 
George M filer, 
George Neff, 
Joseph Neal, 
jSTathan Phipps, 
Abraham Piaceare, 
William Pearslake, 
Thomas Poe, 
Erasmus Quarters 
Andrew Robertson, 
William Reeseman, 
John Rittcr, 
Adam Rankin, 
Adam Ream, 
Christopher Sites, 
Frederick Stumbaugh, 
Jacob Stauffer, 



154 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Nicholas Smith, Henry linger. 

Jacob Smith, William Wolf, 

Henr}' Satin, William Whitman, 

Joseph Tiee, Henry Weaver. 
James Thompson, 

On the 24th of August, 1814, the battle of Bladensburg 
was fought, and the Americans, under General Winder, were 
defeated by the British, under Major General Ross. The 
same day the enemy entered Washington city and burned the 
Capitol and other public buildings. When the news of these 
events reached our quiet town the people were greatly aroused, 
and, report saj^s, they at once despatched a messenger to the 
National authorities at Washington city to learn if more 
troops were desired, and whether volunteers would be re- 
ceived. The government gladly accepted the proffered aid, 
and directed that all the troops raised should march at once 
for Baltimore, as it was feared that the invaders would next 
make an attack upon that cit}-. 

The messenger arrived here at midnight, and found a large 
number of the citizens anxiously awaiting his coming. The 
bells were rung, the town aroused, and the drum and fife 
called the people to arms. In a few days seven companies 
were fully organized and equipped and on the march to Bal- 
timore. One of these was a troop of cavalry from Mercers- 
burg, under Captain Matthew Patton, which marched to 
Baltimore, but was not accepted, as cavalry were not then 
needed. Upon learning that they would not be received as 
cavalry, many of the members of this company disposed of 
their horses and joined the infantry. 

The following are the rolls of the companies of Captains 
John Findlay and Samuel D. Culbertson, of Chambersburg ; 
Thomas Bard, of Mercersburg ; Andrew Robison, of Green- 
castle ; John Flanagan, of Waynesburg, and William Alex- 
ander, of Fannettsburg, as they remain on file in the War 
Department at Washington city : 

CHAMBER&BURG COMPANY, SEPTEMBER, 1814. 

Captain, John Findlay. 

First Lieutenant, John Snider. 

Second Lieutenant, Greenberry Murphy. 

Ensign, John Hershberger. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIX COUNTY. 



155 



SERGEANTS. 



First, Joseph Severns, 
Second, Andrew Rea, 
Third, Henry Smith, 



Fourth, Jeremiah Senseny, 
Fifth, Jacob Fedder. 



CORPORALS. 



First, John Robison, 
Second, George W. Lester, 



Third, Jacpblleck, 
Fourth, Jacob Bickley. 



PRIVATES. 



Jacob Abrahams, 
John Berlin, 
Peter Bonebrake, 
John Baxter, 
James Buchanan, 
John Brindle, 
William Bratten, 
Benjamin Blythe, 
John Baughman, 
John Bucher, 
Jacob Bittinger, 
Abraham Burkholder, 
Frederick ]]est, 
Daniel Grouse, 
Joseph Campbell, 
James Garberry, 
Conrad Clouse, 
Joseph Cope, 
John Glugston, 
M'Farlin Cammel, 
Conrad Draher, 
Daniel Dechert, 
William Dugan, 
James Dixon, 
John Eaton, 
Simon Eaker, 
Benjamin Firnwalt, 
Henry Fry, 
Thomas Fletcher, 
Henry Ganter, 
Jacob George, 
John Gillespy, 
Jacob Glosser, 
John Gelwicks, 
Michael Helman, 
Thomas Hall, 



William Harman, 
James Huston, 
Daniel Helman, 
Isaac Irvin, 
Thomas Jones, 
William Kinneard, 
David Keller, 
Thomas Kaise}', 
Jacob Laufman, 
John Lucas, 
Reuben Monroe, 
Robert M'Afee, 
Daniel M'Allister, 
William M'Kesson, 
William M'Kean, 
William Mills, 
Samuel M'PJlro}-, 
Soyer M'Faggen, 
John Milone, 
David Mentzer, 
Jacob M'Ferren, 
Cammel Montgomer}', 
David Mumma, 
Xiudwick Xitterhouse, 
Samuel Nogel, 
John Nitterhouse, 
Jacob Neff, 
John Nixon, 
John Porter, 
Edward Ruth, 
Jacob Reichert, 
Jolin Radebaugh, 
Elijah Sargeant, 
Charles Stuard, 
Samuel Shillito, 
Daniel Sharp, 



156 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

William Sipes, Jacob Wolfkill, 

Jacob Spitel, Josiali Wallace, 

Ivoss Sharp, David White, 

Joseph Suttey, Matthew Wright, 

John Tritle, James Westbay, 

John Todd, Hugh Woods, 

Joseph Wilson, William White, 

Benjamin Wiser, George Young, 

James Walker, George Zimmerman. 

CHAMBERSBURG COMPANY, SEPTEMBER, 1814. 

Captain, Samuel D. Culbertson. 
First Lieutenant, John M'Clintock. 
Second Lieutenant, George K. Harper. 
Ensign, John Stevenson. 

SERGEANTS. 

First, Andrew Calhoun, Third, Stephen Rigler. 

Second, John Calhoun, Fourth, Alex. Allison, 

CORPORALg. 

First, Hugh Greenfield, Third, Samuel Beatty, 

Second, James Wilson, Fourth, John Andrew. 

PRIVATES. 

John Arntt, William Ferry, 

Henry Burchett, Isaac Grier, 

John Besore, Jacob Grove, 

Samuel Brand, Henr}' Greenawalt, 

Matthew Besore, William Grove, 

George Beaver. Paul Hocflich, 

James Crawford, John Holmes, 

Holmes Crawford, Wm. Heyser, 

Augustus Capron, Joseph Housem, 

William Cook. John Hutchinson, 

James Campbell, George ILarris,''^.-,:^ 

Edward Crawford, Herman Helfmire, 

Edward Capron, John Hinkle,V; , . ;^. 

Peter Craytou, Michael S. Johns, 

John Devine, William Jamison, 

William Denny. George Jasonsky, 

Joseph Duffield. John Kindline, 

John Denig. Jacob Kelker, 

John Dougherty, Andrew Lindsay, 

Joseph Erven, William M. M'Dowell,, 

Benjamin Fahnestock, John M'Bride, 



IirSTOmCAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



157 



Patrick Murray, 
John M'Cormick, 
Georire B M'Kio-ht, 
Thomas G. M'C'ulloh, 
Henry Merklein, 
John Nunemacher, 
William Nochtwine, 
George Oyster, 
John O'Neal, 
Samuel Porter, 
William Reynolds, 
James D. Kiddle, 
Philip Reges, 
John Reed, 
Samuel Ruthrauff, 
William Richey, 
Adam Rtiemer, 
George Simpson, 



William Schcepflin, 
John Snider, 
Samuel Shillito, 
William Shane, 
Daniel Stevenson, 
Jacob Smith, 
David Tritle. 
Robert Thompson, 
Abraham Yoress^ 
Bernard Wolff, 
Jacob Widefelt, 
John Weaver, 
John Whitmore, 
John B. Watts, 
James Warden, 
Joseph Wallace, 
George Willison. 



MERCERSBURG COMPANY, SEPTEMBER, 1814, 

Captain, Thomas Bard. 
First Lieutenant, James M'Dowell. 
Second Lieutenant, John Johnston. 
Ensign, Joseph Bowers. 



SERGEANTS 



First, A. T. Dean, 
Second^ G. DulField, 



Third, Thomas Smith, 
Fourth, G. Spangler. 



CORPORALS. 



First, William Smith, Third, William M'Dowell, 

Second, Thomas Grubb, Fourth, Thomas Johnston. 

Fifer, John Mull. 



PRIVATES. 



John Abbott, 
John Brown, 
Archibald Bard, 
Robert Carson, 
John Coxe, 
John Campbell, 
Samuel Craig, 
John Cox, Jr., 
John Donnyhon, 
Joseph Dick, 
Joseph Dunlap, 



Peter Elliott, 
Jeremiah Evans, 
John Furley, 
Leonard Gaff, 
John Glaze, 
Joseph Garvin, 
James Garver, 
William Glass, 
Henry Garner, 
William Hart, 
Joseph Harrington, 



158 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY, 



James Hamilton, 
James Harrison, 
Fredericlv Henchy, 
John Ilarrer, 
William Houston, 
Samuel Johnston, 
John King, 
John Liddy, 
James M'Howell, 
John M'Clelland, 
Thomas C. M'Dowell, 
William M'Dowell, Sr., 
George M'Ferren, 
James Montgomery-, 
James M'Neal, 
Augustus M'Neal, 
Samuel Markle, 
John M 'Curdy, 
Robert M'Coy, 
John M'Culloch, 
John Maxwell, 



William M'Kinstry, 
Matthew Patton, 
Charles Pike, 
David llobston, 
William Stewart, 
Thomas Speer, 
James Sheilds, 
David Smith, 
George Stevens, 
John Sybert, 
Thomas Squire, 
Conrad Stinger, 
Samuel Witherow, 
Thomas Williamson, 
William Wilson, 
John Werlby, 
John Witherow, 
James Walker, 
William Rankin, 
Thomas Waddle, 
Christopher Wise. 



GREENCASTLE COMPANY, SEPTEMBER, 1814. 

Captain, Andrew Robison. 
First Lieutenant, John Brotherton. 
Second Lieutenant, James Mitchell. 
Ensign, Jacob Besore. 



SERGEANTS. 



First, James Walker, 
Second, Andrew Snively, 



Third, Thomas Wilson, 
Fourth, Arch'd Fleming. 



CORPORALS. 



First, John Randall, Third, George Sackett, 

Second, George Bellows, Fourth, Alex. Aiken. 

Paymaster, William Carson. 



PRIVATES. 



William Armstrong, Jr., 
John Allison, 
William Bratten, 
Robert Bruce, 
John Billings, 
Henry Beattj', 
Samuel Bradle}^, 
William H. Brotherton, 



James Brotherton, 
Robert Brotherton, 
Frederick Baird, 
John Boggs, 
Benjamin Core, 
Walter B. Clark, 
William Clark, 
George Clark, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRA^'KLIN COUNTY. 



159 



Frederick Carpenter, 
William Coffroth, 
James Camion, 
Jesse Peman, 
John Dennis, 
James Davison, 
William T. Dugan, 
Samuel Foreman, 
George Flora, 
David FuUerton, 
John Garner, 
Robert Guinea, 
Hugh Guinea, 
Edward Gordon, 
William Gallagher, 
John Gaff", 
Frederick Gearhart, 
Peter Gallagher, 
William Harger, 
John Henneberger, 
Joseph Hughes, 
William Irwin, 
James Johnston, 
Jonathan Keyser, 
Matthew Kenned}', 
William Krepps, 
George Kuy, 
John M'Cune, 
Adam M'Callister, 
James M'Gaw, 
James M'Cord, 
William M'Graw, 
William H. Miller, 
William Moreland, 
John M'Connell, 
Samuel M'Cu^chen, 
John Miller, 



Archibald M'Lane, 
Abraham M'Cutchen, 
John M'Coy, 
John B. M'Lanahan, 
John M'Clellan, 
Samuel Nigh, 
Robert Owen, 
James Foe, 
John Paiiv, 
Jacob Poper, 
J. Piper, 
John Reed, 
Roger Rice, 
A. B. Rankin, 
John Rowe, Sr., 
John Rogers, 
John Shira, 
Charles Stewart, 
Adam Sa3der, 
John Shearer, 
Sam'l Statler, (of Eman'l), 
George Schreder, 
Henry Sites, 
George Speckman, 
John Snyder, 
Robert Smith, 
John Shaup, 
George UUer, 
William Yandei'aw, 
• Thomas Welsh, 
James Wilson, 
George Wallaek, 
Christian Wilhelm, 
Christian Wise, 
John Weaver, 
Thomas Walker, 
Alexander Younar. 



WAYNESBURG COMPANY, SEPTEMBER, 1814. 

Captain, John Flanagan. 
Lieutenant, William Bivins. 
Ensio-n. Daniel M'Farlin. 



SERGEANTS. 



First, Robert Gordon, 
Second, George Cochran, 



Third, William Downey, 
Fourth. George Foreman, 



160 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



PRIVATES. 



Samuel Allison, ' 
John Bowman, 
John Bormest, 
Christian Beclilel, 
David Beaver, 
William Barnet, 
Hugh Blair, 
William Call, 
James Duncan, 
Joseph Fulton, 
Jacob Fry, 
Loudon Fullerton, 
James Fullerton, 
James Getteys, 
George Gettier, 
Samuel Green, 
Peter Ilaulman, 
Daniel Haulman, 
James Harshman, 
David HefFner, 
Daniel Hartman, 



James Hayden, 
George Koontz, 
Daniel Logan, 
John Logan, 
William Moone}', 
Joseph Misner, 
James M'Cray, 
William M'Dowell, 
John Oellig, 
Maximillian Obermeyer, 
George Price, 
Robert Bay, 
Abraham Koberson, 
Adam Stonebraker, 
John Sheffler, 
John Stoner, 
David Springer, 
Alex. Stewart, 
George Weagley, 
David Weaver. 



FANNETTSBURO COMPANY, SEPTEMBER, 1814. 

Captain, William Alexander. 
Lieutenant, Francis M'Connell. v^ 
Ensign, James Barkley. 



SERGEANTS. 



First, John M'Clay, 
Second, Richard Childerson, 



Third, Peter Foreman, 
Fourth, William Young. 



COPORAL. 



John Sterrett. 



i 



PRIVATES 



James Alexander, 
Thomas Childerstone, 
Edward Dunn, 
John Elder, 
Noah Elder, 
William Finnertj'', 
Andrew^ Foreman, 
Thomas Geddis, 
Thomas Harry, 



John Harrj", 
John Hill, 
George Houston, 
Samuel Hockenberry, 
James Irwin, 
James Jones, 
David Kyle, 
Robert Le"vvis, 
John Little, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 161 

James M'Connell, Peter Piper, 

Robert M'Kleary, John Patterson, 

Hugh Maxwell, John Ryan, 

Robert M'Millon, William Shiitter, 

John M'Allen, Arthur Shields, 

John M'Kee, John Yanlear, 

James M'Kibben, David Witherow, 

Joseph M'Kelvey, James Wallace, 

John Neal, Peter Wilt. 

Upon the arrival of these troops at Baltimore they Avere or- 
ganized into a regiment under the command of John Findley,^ 
of this count}'. The following is the roster of the regimental 
officers: Colonel, John Findley ; Major, David Fullerton 
Surgeon, Dr. John M'Clelland ; First Mate, Dr. John Boggs 
Second Mate, Dr. Jesse M'Gaw ; Adjutant, James M'Dowell 
Quartermaster, Thomas G. M'CuUoh ; Sergeant Major, Andrew 
Lindsay ; Quartermaster Sergeant, William Carson ; Pa3^mas- 
master General, George Clark, Esq. 

Upon the election of Captain Findley as colonel of the regi- 
ment. Lieutenant William Young "was elected captain of the 
company in his stead. These troops march on the 25th of Au- 
gust, 1814, and were in service until the 23d of September fol- 
lowing, when they were discharged. 

THE MEXICAN WAR. 

The annexation of Texas to the United States was the pri- 
mary cause of this war. This was consummated on the 4th of 
Jvily, 1845, b}' the action of the Legislature of Texas, giving 
approval to the bill passed b}^ the Congress of the United 
States, for the anion of the two republics. The Mexican au- 
thorities became very indignant and withdrew their minister 
from Washington, with threats of war. The United States 
government felt itself bound to sustain the independence and 
territorial claims of Texas, and Mexico refusing the overtures 
of our government for a peaceable settlement of the boundary 
lines between the two countries, General Taylor, early in 1846, 
was ordered to advance to the Rio Grande, the boundary 
claimed by Texas, and occupy the disputed territory. The 
Mexicans, under General Ampudia, on the 8th of May, 1846, 
were defeated by him at Palo Alto ; and on the next day were 
a second time defeated at Resaca de la Palma, with a loss of 
11 



162 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

near 1,000 men. On the 11th of May, 184G, Congress declared 
that war existed by the act of Mexico. The news of the com- 
mencement of hostilities occasioned the greatest excitement 
throughout this countr}^ Ten millions of dollars were voted 
hy Congress to carrj^ on the war, and the President was au- 
thorized to accept the services of fifty thousand volunteers. 
Within a few weeks over two lumdred thousand men volun- 
teered for the war. In the spring of 1847 Captain Martin M. 
Moore, of Washington city, received authority to recruit a 
company in Pennsylvania, for the Mexican war. He opened a 
recruiting office in Chambersburg, and very soon enlisted a 
large company, paying a bounty of twelve dollars per man, 
with the right to each recruit to receive, when discharged, one 
hundred and ^ixt}' acres of land, or a treasury scrip, or certificate 
for one hundred dollars, bearing six per cent, interest. This 
company left Chambersburg on the lUh of March, 1847, num- 
bering one hundred and twenty-two men, rank and file. The 
oflficers were : 

Captain, Martin M. Moore. 

First Lieutenant, Charles T. Campbell. 

Second Lieutenant, Horace Haldeman. 

Third Lieutenant, Mead. 

This compan}^ marched to Pittsburg by w\ay of Bedford, 
where it i-eceived some additional recruits. It was called com- 
pany B, eleventh regiment United States infantry. It reached 
Brasos Santiago, aboMt the 17th of April, 1847, and was for a 
considerable time in garrison at Tampico, Mexico, where a 
number of the men died of yellow fever. From Tampico the 
company passed to Yera Cruz, and accompanied our army to 
the city of Mexico. Peace was secured by the treaty of Cau- 
dal oupe Hidalgo, February 2d, 1848, though not formallj' pro- 
claimed until the 4th of Jul}^ following. 

Captain Moore was dismissed from the service at Tampico, 
and thereafter the company was commanded by Lieutenant 
Charles T. Campbell. At the time of the signing of the treaty 
of peace this company was in the interior of Mexico, seventy-five 
miles above the cit}^ of Mexico. On the route home they met 
a number of men going out to join the compau}'. On the re- 
turn of the company' to New York, about the 27th of Julj-, 
1848, it had but about tAventy-four men in its ranks. I tried 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 16S 

to get a copy of the roll of the company, but the authorities 
at Washington city refused to give it for any purpose. 

Ca[)tain Whipple and Lieutenant Hanson also recruited a 
number of men for this war in our county. The whole num- 
ber recruited could not have been less than two hundred. 

THE WAR or THE REBELLION. 

The contribution of our county to the armies that fought 
for the preservation of the Union in the late war of the rebel- 
lion, was quite large, and verj- creditable to the patriotism of 
our people. A full and complete record of these gallant troops 
is to be found in "Bates' History of the Pennsylvania Yolun- 
teers," published by authority of the State of Penns3dvania^ 
and it would therefore be useless to encumber the pages of this 
sketch with a statement of their names and the officers who 
commanded them. Besides, such lists, even if published, woulci 
by no means show who went out from our county in defence, 
of their country in the hour of her need and peril ; for many 
of them joined companies outside of the county, and their 
names and locations are only distinguishable by those who 
knew them. I shall, therefore, merely give the names of the 
companies and regiments, with their commanders. 

THREE months' MEN 1861. 

In April, 1861, the second regiment of the three months' men: 
was organized at Camp Curtin, under the command of Colonel 
Frederick S. Stumbaugh, of Charabersburg. In it were the 
following companies from our county, viz. : 

Company A, Captain Peter B. Housum, 7*7 officers and men. 
" ^ B, " John Doebler, 73 " "■ 

" C, " James G. Elder, 73 " " 

This regiment was in service from the 21st of April, 1861 ^ 
until the 26th of July, 1861. 

THREE YEAKS' MEN. 

35Tn REGIMENT 6TH RESERVES. 

On the 22d of June, 1861, this regiment was organized at 
Camp Curtin, under the command of Colonel W. WaUace 
Ricketts, of Columbia county. The only company in it from 
our county, was — 



16J: HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

'Company D, Captain William D. Dixon, 103 ofticers and men. 

On the 12tli of September, 1863, Captain Dixon was pro- 
jnoted to the lieutenant colonelcy of the regiment, which was 
mustered out of service, June 14th, 1864. 

41ST REGIMENT 12TU RESERVES. 

This regiment was organized at Camp Curtin, under the 
command of Colonel Jolin H. Taggert, of Philadelphia, pri- 
marily for the three months' service, but not being accepted, 
Avas mustered into the State service for three years from the 
date of enlistment. On the 10th of August, 1861, it was mus- 
tered into the United States service. The only company in it 
:irom our count}^ was — 

Company K, Captain John S, Eyster, 93 officers and men. 

The regiment was mustered out of service June 11th, 1864. 

43d REGIMENT — IST ARTILLERY. 

This regiment was organized at Camp Curtin, under the 
ecommand of Colonel Charles T. Campbell, in May, 1861. 
Company B, Captain Hezekiah Easton, was from our county. 
It had in it, during its term of service, three hundred and 
twenty-three officers and men. On the 21th of June, 1862, 
Captain Easton was killed at the battle of Gaines' Mill, and 
<!OU the 25th of July, 1865, after four 3^ears and four months 
service, the battery was mustered out at Harrisburg. 

TTtu regiment. 

This regiment was organized in October, 1861, by the elec- 
tion of Frederick S. Stumbaugh colonel and Peter B. Housum 
lieutenant colonel, both of whom were from our county. The 
following company was from our count}^, viz. : 

Company A, Captain Samuel R. M'Kesson, 219 officers and 
.men. 

Parts of companies D, G and H, were also from our county. 
On the 16th of January, 1866, the regiment was mustered out 
.of the service at Philadelphia. 

8tTH regiment. 

This regiment was originally organized in September, 1861, 
under Colonel George Hay. In September, 1864, it was re-or- 
ganized. In March, 1865, company K, Captain D. B. Greena- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 165 

wait, of oiir county, eightj^-seven officers and men, was assigned 
to it. The regiment was mustered out of the service June 
29th, 1865. 

103d regiment. 

This regiment was organized on the 24th of February, 1862^ 
under Colonel Theodore F. Lehman, and was re-organized and 
filled up in March, 1865, when company A, Captain Elias K.^ 
Lehman, eightj^-eight officers and men, from our county, became 
connected with it. The war having closed, the regiment was 
mustered out of service on the 25th of June, 1865. 

lOtTH REGIMENT. 

This regiment was organized at Harrisburg on the 5th of 
March, 1862, by the election of Thomas A. Ziegle, of York 
county, colonel, and Robert W. M'AUen, of Franklin count}', 
lieutenant colonel. One company, viz : Company K, Captain 
A. Jackson Brand, was from our county, and had in it during 
its term of service one hundred and sixty-nine officers and men. 
There were also a number of Franklin county men in the other 
companies. The regiment was mustered out of the service 
July 13th, 1865. 

108th REGIMENT — 11 Til CAVALRY. 

Colonels, Josiah Harlen and Samuel P. Spear. 

Lieutenant Colonel, George Stetzel. 

Major, John S. Nimmon. 

A large number of the men of this I'egimeut were from our 

county, especially those in company D, Captains R. B. Ward 

and John S. Nimmon. The regiment was organized October 

5th, 1861, and was mustered out of service July 13th, 1865. 

112th REGIMENT — 2d ARTILLERY. 

Colonel, Charles Angeroth, Sr. 
Lieutenant Colonel, B. F. Winger. 
A large number of the men composing this regiment were re- 
cruited in our county. It was organized in January, 1862, and 
was mustered out of service at City Point, Yirginia, on the 
29th of January, 1866. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRAKKLIN COUNTY. 

^^INE MONTHS' MEN. 

12CTII REGIMENT 18G2. 

This regiment was recruited iu about three weeks time, and 
irendezA'Oused at Camp Curtin, Ilarrisljurg, between the 6th 
.and 10th of August, 1802, when a regimental organization 
•was effected, with the following field officers, viz : James G. 
Elder, colonel; D. Watson Kowe, lieutenant colonel; and 
James C. Austin, major. Many of the officers and men had 
served in the second regiment, for three months' service. The 
following companies were from our count}^, viz : 

Company A, Capt., John Doebler, 102 officers and men. 
A-bout one-half of 

Company B, Capt., James C Austin, 48 " " " 
" C, " Robert S.Brownson, 99 " " '' 
" D, " John H. Reed, 101 " " " 
" E, " AVilliam H. Walker, 99 " " " 
" G, " George L. Miles, 93 " " " 
" H, " John H.Walker, 94 " " " 
" K, " 1). Watson Rowe, 101 " " " 
The regiment was mustered out of the service at Harrisburg, 
<J3n the 20th of May, 1863. 

158th regiment. 
This regiment was from Cumberland, Franklin and Fulton 
•counties, and was organized at Chambersburg in the early part 
of November, 1862, with David B. M'Kibben, of the regular 
4irmy, as colonel ; Elias S. Troxel, of our county, as lieuten- 
-ant colonel ; and Martin C. Hale, of Cumberland county, as 
.major. The following companies were from our county, viz : 
<Compaiiy B, Capt., Elias K. Lehman, 108 officers and men. 
'^ . D, " Archibald R. Rhea, 105 " " " 
■" JE, " Elias S. Troxell, 104 " " " 

-" G, " Michael W. Trair, 102 " " " 
•" I, " WilliamE. M'Dowell, 102 " " " 
'The 'regiment was mustered out of service at Chambersburg, 
iA>ugust 12th, 1863. 

THREE YEARS' MEN. 

161ST REGIMENT — 16tH CAVALRY. 

Colonel, John Irvin Gregg. 
Was organized 18th November 1862. Company H, of this 
iregiment, under command of Captain W. H. SuUenberger, was 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 167 

from this county, and had in it two hundred and three officers 
and men. It was mustered out of service at Richmond, Ya., 
August 7th, 1865. 

162d regiment — ITth cavalry. 

This regiment was organized 18th October, 1862, under Jo- 
siah H. Kellogg as colonel. Company G, Captain Luther B. 
Kurtz, one hundred and forty-seven officers and men, was 
from our county. It was mustered out of service August 16th, 
1865. 

NINE MONTHS' MEN— DRAFTED MILITIA. 

165th regiment. 

Colonel, Charles H. Buehler. 
This regiment was organized 6th December, 1862, at Gettys- 
burg. Company A, Captain Charles A. Funk, one hundred 
and one officers and men, was from our county. It was mus- 
tered out of service at Gettysburg, 28th July, 1863. 

SIX MONTHS' MEN. 

182d regiment — 21st cavalry'. 

Colonel, William H. Boyd. 
This regiment was organized at Chambersburg, about 
August, 1863, for six months' service. The following com- 
panies were raised in our county, viz. : 

Company D, Capt. Josiah C. Hullinger, 105 officers and men. 
" H, " Samuel Walker, 92 " " " 

" I, " Christian R. Pisle, 100 " " " 

" K, " Robert J. Boyd, 83 " " " 

" L, " George L. Miles, 102 " " " 

In Februar}^, 1864, the regiment was reorganized for a three 
years' service, under the former field and staff officers, and 
with the following company officers from our county, viz. : 
Company D, Capt. Josiah C. Hullinger, 68 officers and men. 
" E, " Wm. H. Boyd, Jr., in part from our county. 
" K, " Henry C. Phenicie, 139 officers and men. 
" L, " John H. Harmony, 133 " " " 

The regiment was mustered out of service at Appomattox 
Court House, on the 8th of July, 1865. 



168 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

ONE YEARS' MEN. 

201ST REGIMENT. 

Colonel, F. Asbury Awl. 
Part of company K, Captain Alexander C. Landis, of this- 
regiment, was from our county. 

205th regiment. 

Colonel, Joseph A. Matthews. 
Part of company G, Captain Erasmus D. Wilt, of this; 
regiment, was from our county. 

207th regiment. 

Colonel, Robert C. Cox. 
This regiment was organized at Camp Curtiu, September 
8th, 1864. About one-half of Company F, Captain Martin 
G. Hale, was from this county. The regiment was mustered' 
out May 13th, 1865. 

209TII regiment. 

This regiment was organized at Camp Curtin on the 16th 
of September, 1864, with Tobias B. Kauffman as colonel ; 
George W. Frederick, lieutenant colonel ; and John L. Ritchey, 
of our county, as major. It had in it from our county the 
company of Captain John L. Pvitche^^, ninety-two officers and 
men. The regiment was mustered out of service on the 31st 
of May, 1865, near Alexandria, Virginia. 

210th regiment. 

This regiment was organized at Camp Curtin on the 24th of 
September, 1864, with William Sergeant as colonel. A large 
part of company D, of this regiment. Captain H. W. M'Knight,. 
was from our county, and there were also many men from 
this county in the other companies of the regiment. The 
regiment was mustered out of the service May 30th, 1865. 

independent battery b. 

Captain, Charles F. Muehler. 
"^ Captain, Alanson J. Stevens. 
A large part of this battery was recruited in our county for 
the seventy-seventh regiment b}- Captain Peter B. Housum,. 
and on his promotion to the lieutenant colonelcy of the. 



UrSTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 169 

seventy-seventh, the men were transferred to the company of 
Captain Muehler, and mustered into service November 6th, 
18G1. Captain Stevens was killed at the battle of Murfrees- 
boro, and Captain Samuel M. M'Dowell succeeded to the 
command. He was killed at Kenesaw Mountain, Georgia, 2^ 
June, 1864. It was mustered out of service October 12th, 1865. 

MILITIA AND EMERGENCY TROOPS. 

INDEPENDENT COMPANIES. 

Captain John Jeffries ; ninety-four officers and men. Or- 
ganized September 5th, 1862. Discharged September 2tth, 
1862. 

Captain John W. Douglas ; eighty-five officers and men. 
Organized September 1st, 1862. Discharged September 16th, 
1862. 

Captain James H. Montgomerj' ; eighty-nine officers and 
men. Organized September 8th, 1862. Discharged September 
20th, 1862. 

Captain George W. E3'ster ; sixty-two officers and men. 
Organized September 12th, 1862. Discharged October 1st. 
1862. 

Captain John Denny Walker ; sixty-five officers and men. 
Organized September 11th, 1862. Discharged September 
2nh, 1862. 

Captain K. Shannon Taylor ; seventy-seven officers and men. 
Organized September 9th, 1862. Discharged September 25th, 
1862. 

Captain David Houser ; seventy-seven officers and men. 
Organized September 15th, 1862. Discharged October 1st, 
1862. 

Captain Thomas L. Fletcher ; eighty-four officers and men. 
Organized September 14th, 1862. Discharged October 1st, 
1862. 

Captain Charles W. Eyster ; one hundred and eighteen offi- 
cei'sandmen. Organized September 14th, 1862. Discharged 
October 15th, 1862. 

Captain David Yance ; eighty-eight officers and men. Or- 
ganized September 18th, 1862. Discharged October 11th, 1862. 

Captain Andrew M. Criswell ; fifty-two officers and men. 
Organized Sept. 15th, 1862. Discharged October 1st, 1862. 



170 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Captain Christian C. Foltz ; forty-seven oftieers and men. 
Organized September 11th, 1862. Discharged September 25th, 
1862. 

The total aggregate of the oflicers and men from our county, 
who served during the great war of the Rebellion, and of whom 
we have records, was over five thousand. Besides these, there 
were many others of our gallant boys who went into compa- 
nies formed in other counties and States. Not one of them, 
that I know of, was ever charged with cowardice, or proved 
himself reluctant to go where duty called. On the contrary, 
their blood was poured out on many a bloody battle field far 
distant from their native homes, and their last expiring sighs 
were breathed out uncheered by the presence and consolations 
of their beloved families and friends. What has heretofore 
been said of New England's gallant citizen soldiery, can with 
equal truth be said of our own : 
"On every hill they lie, 

On every field of strife made red 
By bloody victory, 

Each Valley where the battle pour'd 
Its red and awful tide, 

Beheld 'Old Franklin's' bravest sword, 
In slaughter deejjly dyed. 

Their bones are on the northern hill 
And on the southern plain, 

By brook and river, lake and rill, 
And by the roaring main. 

"The land is holy where they fought. 
And holy where they fell ; 
For by their blood that land was bought. 

The land they loved so well. 
Then glory to that valiant band, 
The honor'd saviors of the land." 

MINERALS AND FURNACES. 

Franklin county is exceedingly rich in iron ores — far more 
so, indeed, than most people here or elsewhere imagine — and 
the manu.facture of iron was commenced both on the eastern 
and on the western side of the county very many years ago. 
As early as 1*783, as before stated, Williams, Benjamin and 
George Chambers erected the Mount Pleasant furnace, in Path 
Yalley, and by industry, perseverance and good judgment, 
made the business not only remunerative to themselves, but 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OP FRANKLIN COUNTY. 171 

highly advantageovis to the people of the surrounding districts. 
Everything uecessary to the economical production of iron, 
save coal, abounds in close proximit}' to our ore beds ; and I 
have heard a gentleman who has long been engaged in the 
manufacture of iron, and who has visited and carefully in- 
spected the great iron producing regions of the country, and 
who is qualified b}^ his experience to judge, declare that no- 
where, in the whole range of his observation, does he know of 
an}" section of country that is richer in its iron ore deposits, or 
that offers greater inducements to the investment of capital in 
the iron business, than the county of Franklin. In his opin- 
ion, long before another generation shall have passed away, 
there will be dozens of furnaces and forges in our county, 
where now only one or two are to be found ; that millions 
of dollars will be invested as soon as the trade of the country 
returns to its normal condition, where only thousands are now 
invested ; and that long before the second centennial of our 
national existence shall have arrived, the development of the 
vast ore beds along the eastern and western borders of our 
valley will most inevitably make ours one of the very largest 
iron producing counties of the Commonwealth. The iron 
made at our iron works, particularly that made at Stevens' old 
Caledonia works, and at Hughes' old works, now the Mont 
Alto works, has always maintained an excellent reputation, 
and commanded ready sales, at remunerative prices, because 
of its peculiar excellencies ; and there is no reason why that 
reputation shall not be maintained in the future. 

'•Hughes' Furnace," now the property of the Mont Alto 
company, was built by Daniel and Samuel Hughes, in 
1808. It was cold blast, and was what was known as a 
quarter stack. The water wheel used was 30 feet in diameter 
and three feet breast. The product was from eighteen to 
twenty tons of pig iron per week. The iron was hauled by 
wagons to the Potomac river at Williamsport, Maryland, and 
thence taken by boats to market. 1815 a foundry was built, and 
the entire pi'oduct of the works was made into hollow ware and 
stoves and hauled by wagons to Baltimore. In 1832 Mr. Hughes 
built a rolling mill on the West Antietam creek. The wheel 
w\as thirt3'-six feet diameter and sixteen feet breast. In 1835 
a nail works was also built near the rollino- mill. In 1864 the 



172 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Mont Alto Iron eoniptmy purchased the works and seventeen 
thousand acres of land. They enlarged the furnace, changed 
from water to steam power, and introduced new machiner}^ 
In 18GG they abandoned the old forges and rolling mill, and 
built a steam bloom forge near the furnace, the second largest 
of the kind in the State. The product of the furnace is now 
one hundred tons per week, the largest known of any furnace 
of the same size, and using the same percentage of iron ores. 
In 1867 charcoal kilns were introduced, the first successful 
ones in Pennsylvania. In prosperous times the company em- 
ploy five hundred men, seventy-five horses and mules, and run 
fifteen steam engines. 

The Mont Alto liailroad company, between April and Oc- 
tober, 1872, with home labor entirely, built a railroad from the 
Cumberland Yalley railroad, near Scotland, to the works of 
the Mont Alto Iron company, twelve and thirty one hun- 
dredths miles long, at a cost of two hundred and thirtj'-six 
thousand six hundred dollars, which is regularly run twice a 
day, for the canying of passengers and freight, and which has 
been of great convenience to the traveling public and to the 
iron company. They have also within the past three years 
opened up the gap, in the mouth of which their w^orks stand^ 
and laid out at great expense a beautiful summer resort under 
the name of "Mont Alto Park." Every convenience has been 
provided for pic-nics and parties of pleasure seekers ; and 
those who have once enjoyed the cool shades and delights of 
the place will not fail to return to them again. 

"Richmond Furnace," formerly "Mount Pleasant," is the 
oldest iron woiksin the county, having been established in 1783. 
It was purchased from Daniel Y. Ahl, by a company styled 
"The Southern Pennsylvania Iron and Railroad company," 
who built a new anthracite furnace about the year 1871, and 
constructed a railroad from the Cumberland Valley railroad, 
near Marion, to their works, nineteen miles in length, with a 
branch road to Mercersburg, over two miles long, the whole 
improvement costing, including the individual subscription,, 
over seven hundred thousand dollars. The original company 
became embarrassed, and their works, franchises, tfcc, Avere 
sold out, and anew company organized in the year 1873, under 
the name of "Southern P^^nnsylvania Railway and Mining; 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 173 

company," of which Thomas 13. Kennedy, Esq., is president. 
The furnace is not now in operation. When run to its full ca- 
pacity it employs about two hundred men, and turns out about 
fifty tons of iron per week. 

The "Franklin Furnace," situated near St. Thomas, in St. 
Thomas township, was built in the year 1828, by P. & G. Hou- 
sum. It is now owned and carried on by Messrs. Hunter & 
Springer, and when in full blast, has a capacity of from forty 
to fifty tons of cold blast charcoal iron per week, and employ s 
about seventy-five hands. 

"Carrick Furnace" is situated in Metal township, Path Val- 
le}^, about four miles south of Fannettsburg. It was built by 
General Samuel Dunn, in the year 1828. It is now carried on 
by Pt. M. Shalter, and manufactures about thirty tons of iron 
per week. 

We have also in the railroads now in operation, and in those 
projected and destined to l)e made at no very distant day, 
every facility for the easy, cheap, and speedy transportation 
of our iron products, north, south, east and west ; and it only 
requires that oiir country shall get over its present monetary 
depression, and trade and business once more have resumed 
their natural activities, to show that these opinions and pre- 
dictions of my friend are true (in fact) and not merel}^ the un- 
warranted conclusions of an incompetent judge 

Though chiefly an agricultural section of the Commonwealth, 
our county has steadily, if not rapidly, progressed in every- 
thing that pertains to the happiness and prosperity of her peo- 
ple. The lands within our borders have been largely cleared ; 
thoroughly cultivated, and improved in the most substantial 
manner, and have correspondingly enhanced in value, and now 
no people in any of the numerous counties of this great Com- 
monwealth are better housed and provided for in every re- 
spect ; live better or more comfortably than do our people, 
and none, either agricultural, commercial, or mechanical, have 
suffered less, or lost less, from the gi'eat financial storms that 
have recently swept over the land, and left desolation, ruin 
and woe in their tracks, than have the people of thi3 county. 

CHANGES IN POPULATION. 

When our county was first settled the Scotch-Irish element 
was, as before stated, largely in the preponderance Fully 



174 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

nine-tenths of our citizens then were of that nationality, inter- 
spersed with a few Scotch and Enolish, and Germans. The 
former then fdled all onr otlices of honor, of trust, and of i)roflt. 
They were our law-makers, and onr leaders in times of peace, 
and in the perils and dangers of war ; and to their credit be 
it said, that they discharged their duties nobly, and honora- 
bly, and well. They have died off", and their descendants, in 
very many instances, have abandoned the avocations which their 
forefathers delighted in of tilling the soil, and making the 
waste places to blossom as the rose, and have betaken them- 
selves to the pursuit of wealth and happiness in other chan- 
nels, such as merchandise, medicine, divinity and law. The 
plodding, pains-taking, economical, law-abiding and steady-go- 
ing Germans have taken their places, and now, thousands of 
acres, and hundreds of farms, that fifty 3'ears ago were the 
possessions of the descendents of those who Avere their first 
owners, under titles from the proprietaries or the colonial au- 
thorities, know them no more. Their very names are almost 
forgotten in the land for which they did so much, and suffered 
so many privations ; and if remembered at all, it is because of 
some deed of daring or act of bravery, that has gone iipou 
the pages of history, and will serve to keep them in grafeful 
remembrance long after all personal recollections of them shall 
have passed away in the regions in which they have lived, and 
acted, and died. 

OUR "men of mark" in politics. 

In this free country- we are all sovereigns by births, and the 
highest office in the gift of the people is o|)en to the humblest 
son of the land. Each and every native born citizen has an 
equal right to aspire thereto, and to all the other high places 
of honor and profit under the government. And the very fact 
that a man has thus been trusted and honored, and elevated by 
the people, has ever been considered as honoring the 'district 
of country in which he was born. Viewed in this light Frank- 
lin county is entitled to a full share of the honors attaching to 
the great men of the nation. 

James Buchanan, the fifteenth President of the United States, 
was born in our county, on the 23d day of April, 1191. His 
birth place was a wild and romantic spot in the gorge of the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 175 

Cove, or North mountain, about four miles west of Mercers- 
burg. Previous to his elevation to the Presidency he had 
served ten years in the House of Representatives of the United 
States ; and ten 3-ears in the Senate of the United States ; had 
been Minister to Russia ; Secretary of State for the United 
States, and Minister to England. 

William Findlay, the fourth Governor of Pennsylvania, was 
born at Mercersburg, in our county, on the 20th of June, 1768. 
In 1797 he was elected to the House of Representatives of Penn- 
sylvania from this county; and re-elected in 1804-'05-'06 and 
'07. On the 13th of January, 1807, he was elected State 
Treasurer by the Legislature, whereupon he resigned his seat 
in the House, and from that date until the 2d of December, 
1817, a period of nearly eleven j^ears, he was annually re- 
elected State Treasurer, in Several instances by a unanimous 
vote. In 1817 Mr. Findlay was elected Governor by the Re- 
publicans, and resigned the Treasurer's office on the 2d of 
December of that year. He filled the gubernatorial chair for 
three years, was re-nominated in 1820, and beaten by Joseph 
Heister. At the session of the Legislature in 1821-'22, he 
was elected to the United States Senate for the full term of 
six 3'ears, and after the expiration of his Senatorial service he 
was appointed b}" President Jackson, Treasurer of the United 
States Mint at Philadelphia, which position he held until the 
accession of General Harrison to the Presidency, when he re- 
signed. 

During his term as United States Senator his brother, CoL 
John Findlay, was the representative of this congressional 
district, in the lower house, for the years 1819 to 1827, and 
his brother. General James Findlay, represented the Cincin- 
nati district of Ohio, from 1825 to 1833, thus presenting the 
unusual spectacle of three brothers sitting in the Congress of 
the United States at one time, a spectacle only once paralleled 
in the history of the government, namely, by the Washburne 
brothers, within the last few years. 

. Robert M'Clelland was born in Greencastle, in this count}', 
on the 1st of August, 1807. In 1831 he was admitted to prac- 
tice the law in our courts, but removed to Pittsburg, and from 
thence, in 1833, to Monroe, in the then territory of Michigan. 
In 1838 he was elected to the State Legislature of his adopted 



176 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

State, and was elected Speaker of the House of Representa- 
tives in 1843. In the same year he was elected a member of 
Congress, and was re-elected in 1845 and 1841. In 1850 he 
was a member of the Constitutional Convention of Michigan. 
In 1851 he was elected Governor of the State, ftnd was subse- 
quently re-elected. In 1853 he was appointed by President 
Fierce Secretarj^ of the Interior, which position he retained 
during the administration of President Pierce. 

William Macla^, a native of our county, was a member of 
the Senate of the United States from this State, for the years 
1789 to 1791. 

Samuel Maclay, also a native of our county, was a Repre- 
sentative in the lower House of Congress from 1795 to 1797, 
and a member of the Senate of the United States, from this 
State, from 1803 to 1808, when he resigned. 

John Macla}', also a native of our county, was a magistrate 
in colonial times, and was a member of the Carpenter's Hall 
Conference, at Philadelphia, from Cumberland county, in June, 
1776. He was also a member of the Legislature from this 
county for the years 1791-'92, and 1793-'94. He died in 
Lurgan township. 

These gentlemen were brothers, boi-n in Lurgan township, 
In our county, and received their education at a classical 
school taught by Rev. John Blair, pastor of the three "Spring" 
churches, which was probably the first school of that character 
in the Cumberland Valley. William removed to Harrisburg 
and married a daughter of John Harris, and died there in 1804. 
Samuel Macla}^ removed to Mifflin county at the close of the 
revolution, and filled a number of important local offices there 
prior to his election to Congress. 

Stephen Adams, also a native of our count}", removed, at an 
early age, to the State of Mississippi, where he was subse- 
quently elected to the House of Representatives of the United 
States, and also to the Senate of the United States. 

The following gentlemen, natives of our county, served in 
the House of Representatives of the United States, and in 
the other positions indicated, viz : James M'Lone, served in 
Congress in 1779-'80, was a member of the Provincial Con- 
ference of Pennsylvania, held at Carpenter's Hall, Philadel- 
phia, on the 25th of June, 1776; was a member of the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OP FRANKLIN COUNTY. 177 

•convention that formed the constitution of 1176, for the State 
of Pennsylvania ; a member of the Supreme Executive 
Council of Pennsj-lvania, from Cumberland county, from 
November 9th, 1778, to December 28th, 1779; was elected to 
and served in the Council of Censors, from October, 1783, to 
October, 1784 ; was elected in October, 1784, a member of the 
Supreme Executive Council from this county, and served for 
three years ; and was also a representative from this county, 
in the convention of 1789, which formed the State Constitu- 
tion of 1790 ; he was also a member of the House of Repre- 
sentatives of Pennsylvania from this county in the sessions of 
1787-'88, 1788-'89, 1790-'91, and 1793-'94. He was born in 
Antrim township, lived there all his life, and died March 13th, 
1806, and was buried at the Brown's mill graveyard. 

John Rea, a native of this county, represented the Franklin 
-and Bedford district in Congress from 1803 to 1811, being the 
8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th Congresses. He was also in the 13th 
Congress, in the j^ears 1813 and 1815. He was also the first 
Coroner of the county, elected in October, 1784, and served 
In the House of Representatives of Pennsjdvania, for the 
years 1785-'86, 1789-'90, 1792-'93, 1796-'97, 1797-'98, and 
1800-1801 ; and was in the Senate of Pennsylvania from 1823 
to 1824, when he resigned, and James Dunlop was elected in 
Jiis place. 

William Maclay, also a native of our count}', represented 
the Franklin, Adams and Cumberland district in Congress for 
two terms, from 1815 to 1819. He had previously represented 
this county in the House of Representatives of Penns3dvania, 
for the years 1808 and 1809. He died in 1825. 

David Fullerton was elected to Congress from this district 
in 1819, and took his seat at the opening of the first session 
■of the sixteenth Congress, December 6th, 1819. He resigned 
in the summer of 1820. He afterwards represented this 
county in the State Senate from 1827 to 1839. 

Thomas G. M'Culloh succeeded him, and filled out his term 
in Congress. Mr. M'Culloh also represented our county ia 
the House of Representatives of the State in the sessions of 
1831-'32, 1832-33 and 1834-'35. 

John Findlay, of our county, represented this district in 
Congress from 1821 to 1827. 
12 



178 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

James Findlay, his brother, also of our county, was in Con- 
gress from the Cincinnati district of Ohio, from 1825 to 1833. 

Hon. Alexander Thompson, who was a native of this county, 
represented the Bedford district in Congress in 1824-26. He 
was subsequently our President Judge from 182Y to 1842. 

John Thompson, also born in our county, was a member of 
Congress from Ohio from 1825 to 1827, and from 1829 to 183T- 

Thomas Hartley Crawford, a native of Chambersburg, was 
in Congress from this district from 1828 to 1832. He also 
represented the county in the lower branch of the Legislature 
in 1833-'34. Was Commissioner of Indian Affairs and Judge 
of the Criminal Court of the district of Columbia for manjr 
years. 

George Chambers, also a native of our town, was a repre- 
sentative of this district in Congress from 1832 to 1836. Was 
a delegate to the convention that framed the constitution or 
1838, and a Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania by 
appointment from Governor Johnston from April 12th to De- 
cember, 1851. 

James X. M'Lanahan was born in Antrim township, in this 
county, in 1809. He served in the Senate of Pennsylvania 
from this district in 1842-'43 and '44, and represented the dis- 
trict in Congress from 1848 to 1852. 

David P. Robinson, also a native of Antrim township, repre- 
sented our district in Congi'ess for the years 1854 and 1856. 

Wilson Reilly, a native of Quiiicy (formerlj- Washington) 
township, in this county, represented this district in Congress 
in the j^ears 1857 and 1858. 

Hon. John A. Ahl, who a few years since represented the 
Cumberland district in Congress, was born at Strasburg, in our 
county. His father was a physician, resident there many years 
ago, and engaged in the practice of his profession. 

Hon. Wm. S. Stenger, our present representative in Congress,, 
was born at Loudon, in this county, on the 13th day of Febru- 
ary, A. D. 1840. He was three times elected District Attorney of 
our county, and held and discharged the duties of the office 
from 1863 to 1872. He Avas elected to Congress in 1874, served 
in the 44th Congress in 1875-77, and is now serving in the 
45th Congress. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 179* 

Hon. William A. Piper, a member of the present House oT 
Representatives of the United States from the State of Cali- 
fornia, was born in Amberson's Valley, Fannett township, in 
our county, in the year 1825. 

Hon. xllcxander Campbell, a member of the present House- 
of Representatives of the United States from the State of Illi- 
nois, was also born at Concord, Fannett township, in our- 
county, on the 4th of October, 1814. 

There are no doubt others who were born in our countj^ who 
from other States and Territories held places in the National, 
government, l)ut I have not had the time nor the opportunity 
to look up their records. These names have been obtained! 
through a cursory examination of some of the journals of Con- 
gress, and from other sources. 

Besides these, our county has furnished Speakers to bothf. 
branches of our State Legislature in the persons o-f Hon_ 
Thomas Carson, in the Senate, and Hon. Frederick Smith and 
Hon. John Rowe in the House. The latter also held from 5tli- 
May, 1857, to 1st Ma3', 18G0, the important and responsible- 
position of Surveyor General of our Commonwealth. 

Abraham Smith, who represented our county in the Supreme- 
Executive Council of the State from 1T84 to 1790, was anative- 
of the county and resident in Antrim township. If I am cor- 
rectly- informed, he was a brother of William Smith, the foimder 
of Mevcersl)urg. He was Lieutenant of Cumberland county for- 
the years 1780-'81 and '82, and I am satisfied that he was a 
member of the House of Representatives from our county in the- 
sessions of 1784-'85-'85- 86 and 8G-'87. He was then, and 
continued to be until April, 1803, the owner of a tract of near 
three hundred and fifty acres of land in Antrim township,. 
W'hicli in 1803 he sold to Jacob Snively, of that township^ 
when he removed to Mercersburg, where he died. An exami- 
nation of the assess books of the county from 1786 to 1794 
shows also that he was taxed in Antrim township for three 
hundred and thirty acres of land, and horses and other cattle^ 
all these years, and that he was the only man of his name as- 
sessed in the county. He was appointed Lieutenant of Frank- 
lin county on the 7th of April, 1785; was elected to and 
served in the Supreme Executive Council from 1787 to 179'' ; 
was a member of the State convention that formed the State- 



180 HISTROICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

•constitution of 1790, and represented tlie Senatorial district, 
•composed of Franklin and Bedford counties, in our State, for 
the years 1790 to 1794. In his deed to Jacob Snively he is 
■styled Colonel Abraham Smith, a title most probably attached 
to his former position as Lieutenant of the County, as it is not 
claimed that he did any military service, and a comparison of 
Jiis signature to that deed with the signature of Abraham 
Smith, Lieutenant of Cumberland count}^ in 1781, shows that 
t\\Qy were written by one and the same person. 

From 1790 to 187G, covering a period of eighty-six j-ears, 
twenty-four persons have represented our county in the State 
.Senate. Of these just one-half, (12,) viz: Abraham Smith, 
"Thomas Johnston, James Poe, Archibald Rankin, Robert 
'.Smith, John Rea, James Dunlap, David Fullerton, James X. 
JM'Lanahan, Thomas Carson, George W. Brewer and Calvin 
JM. Duncan were natives of our county ; and two others — A. 
K. M'Clure and Chambers M'Kibben — were residents of the 
icounty at the times of their election. 

It is worthy, also, of a passing notice, that the two gentle- 
men who have filled the position of Clerk of the House of 
Representatives of the United States for terms longer than 
jiny others, should have been natives of adjoining counties, 
IFranklin and Adams, in our State. Matthew St. Clair Clark 
was born at Greencastle, in our county, was admitted at our 
"bar in 1811, and practiced the law here for several years ; was 
elected Clerk of the House of Representatives December 3d, 
1822, and served until December 2d, 1833, and was elected 
again Maj' 31st, 1841, and served until December 6th, 1843, 
making a total service of twelve years, six months and six 
'days, the longest period the office has ever been held by one 
person. He was a wholo-souled, genial fellow, an intimate as- 
sociate of Clay, Webster, Calhoim, and all the great men who 
sat in Congress during his period of service. 

Edward M'Pherson is a native of Adams county, and after 
serving this district for two terms in Congress, filled the office 
of Clerk of the House of Representatives for six consecutive 
Congresses — or from 1863 to 1875 — being twelve years. Mr. 
JM'Pherson's was therefore the longest continuous service ; Mr. 
C!lark's the longest actual service. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 181 

Why may not we, as Pennsylvanians, and as citizeixs of 
Franklin count}', justly feci proud when we look over this rol£ 
of "men of mark," and rightfully claim a portion of the hx)nor 
that their deeds has reflected upon their country ? 

OUR "lost arts." 

In the earlier years of our county's existence there rrere quite 
a number of trades and occupations carried on in various; 
parts of the county that have long since been wholly aban- 
doned, or are now very feebly continued. This result is. owing- 
mainly to the improvements made in the last one hundred years, 
in machinery, whereb}^ the great majority of the articles that 
were formerly made by hand are now turned out with the aid 
of machinery much more rapidly, more perfect, and greatly 
cheaper than they could be made at the present day in the 
old way. 

In the year 1787 a man named Mulholland comjnencecl 

the manufacture of potash at Strasburg, which he continued 
till his death, in 1808. 

In the year 1789 Patrick Campbell and Marrow en- 
gaged in the same business at Chambersburg, and continued 
it until 1797, when the firm was changed to Patrick & Ter- 
rence Campbell. They had their manufactory in the stone 
house near the west end of the Wolfstown bridge. 

From about 1800 or 1805 to 1825, William Drucks and An- 
thony Van Pool manufiictured iron shovels and pans, in Green- 
castle ; did a large business and made considerable money. 

The manufacture of mill-stones was established in Cham- 
bersburg about the year 1792, by James Falkner, Jr., and was 
extensively conducted for many years. The stones were 
brought here in the rough, upon Avagons, were then shaped up 
and put together, and large numbers sold in the county, and 
to other points further west, to those having need for them. 

In 1820 George Walker and George Roupe carried on a 
"burr mill-stone manufactory" on the Baltimore turnpike, 
about two miles east of Chambersburg. 

Alexander Scott, the uncle of Hon. Thomas A. Scott, Presi- 
dent of the Pennsylvania i-ailroad company, carried on the sil- 
versmithing on the lot on which the "Repository Hall" now 
stands, for many j-ears. lie was a skilled mechanic, and man- 



18:2 HISTORICAL sketch of franklin county. 

mfaetured a large number of eight-day clocks of the old style, 
•Tvith high cases and brass works His clocks were celebrated 
for their correctness as time keepers, and many of them are 
jet in existence, and are highly valued. lie died about the 
jear 1821. No clocks are now manulactured in our county. 

Andrew Clearj^ also manfactured mill-stones in Chambers- 
hiivg as late as 1829, he being the last person who carried 
on the business in the count3\ Ilis shop was on West Market 
street. None of these avocations are now carried on in our 
county that I know of. 

In the latter part of the last century and in the earlier years 
■of this century there were quite a number of oil mills in vari- 
ous sections of the county, where oil was regularly manufac- 
tured from flax seed, much of which was annually raised by 
tlie farming community. There may 3-et be some places in 
the county where this business is carried on, but I do not know 
their locality if such there be. 

Flax mills were also quite numerous in those early days, 
"where the hemp raised by the farmers was broken and pre- 
pared for use. For one oil or hemp mill that can now be found 
grinding or pounding away, there were ten then. 

In the last centur}- there were few, if any, cut nails used. 
Almost all nails were then made hy hand, upon the anvil, out 
of the iron bar. Every Ijlacksmith did more or less of such 
"work, and was looked to by his neighbors to supply them with 
;all the nails they needed for fencing, shingling, house build- 
ing, &c. Early in the century Hugh and Michael Greenfield 
established a large nail factory at Chaml)ersburg, where they 
made all kinds of nails by hand. Their shop stood on the lot 
•on which the foundry of T. B. Wood & Co. now stands. In 
the 5"ear 1819 they declined the business, and handed over the 
shop to John R. Greenfield & Co., who continued it until 
.about 1820.. 

From 1808 to 1810 or 1812, there was a nail factory carried 
on by the County Commissioners in the Jail, the prisoners be- 
ing the workmen. Large sums of money were annually paid 
to Col. Samuel Hughes, by the county, for iron to be manu- 
:factured into nails in the county nail shops. 

In the year 18-14 Messrs. Brown & Watson established their 
■' Conococheague Rolling Mill and Nail Factory." They made 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 183 

rolled iron, cut nails, brads, sprigs, &c., and were, I think, the 
first manufacturers of cut nails in our county. 

In the year 1821 Christian Etter commenced the manufac- 
ture of cut nails in Chambersburg. His manufactory was 
located "on the north side of the Falling Spring, opposite the 
English Presliyterian church." 

Thomas Johns commenced the manufacture of augers of 
all sizes at Chambersburg, at a very early (\^\. They were 
made by hand, out of flat bars of iron, were twisted in the 
common vise, the edges tiled down and burnished upon a large 
emery wheel, and the inner surface of the twist was painted 
black. It required considerable skill and experience to make 
a perfect article, 

William Ferrj^ also subsequently followed the same business 
extensively for many years. He had his manufactory at his 
dwelling on West Market street. 

Philip Sholl, at a very early period, carried on at Cham- 
bersburg, the manufacture of cards for fulling mills, and for 
all other purposes. 

George Faber, also, at a later period, followed the same 
business quite extensively. For many years he had his "card 
factory" on the lot where the Gillan property now stands, on 
West Market street, opposite Miller's Hotel. Mr. Faber gave 
employment to many females at "setting" or sticking cards. 
That work was then all done by hand, and it is said that many 
«ven of the better class of our females did not disdain to take 
work from Mr. Faber, and thus earn an honest penny. In 
after j-ears he invented an ingenious machine for sticking his 
cards, and did away with female labor. He removed to Pitts- 
burg about the 3'ear 1836. 

Glove making was also carried on at this point for many 
years by a man named Rians, and others. 

About the year 1794, Anthony Snider commenced the man- 
ufacture of scythes and sickles where the upper brewery of 
David Washabaugh formerly stood, on West King street. 

John and Thomas Johns, about the 3-ear 1812, commenced 
the manufacture of sickles and scathes in Chambersburg, and 
carried on the business largel}- and successfully for a long 
time, down to near 1820. Their factory was in "Kerrstown," 
on South Main street, on the lot south of Heart's pottery. 



184 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

In the 3'ear 1820 a man named Jacob Smith commenced the 
manufacture of tacks of all sizes at Chambersburg. Each 
tack was made by hand, as no machinery for their manufacture 
had then been invented, or if invented had not been introducd 
here. 

The manufacture of hats, which were then all made of wool 
and furs of various fineness, was early commenced at various 
points in our county. John M'Clintock carried on in WaA'nes- 
boro' in 1810; John Rowe, Jacob Krepps and John Weitzel 
about the same time at Greencastle ; John M'Murdy and Thomas. 
Carson at Mercersburg ; and Jacob Deckert, James Wright and 
others at Chambersburg. In the 3^ear 1815 Mr. M'Clintock re- 
moved from Waynesburgto Chambersburg and for man}- years, 
these gentlemen and others at other points in the county carried 
on the trade quite extensively. Now there is not a wool or fur 
hat made in the county. The seething "kettle" no longer 
sends up its steam cloiids towards Heaven, its "planks" are 
riven and dry, the twang of the "bow" no longer is heard o'er 
the "hurl," and the song of the jolly "jour" at the midnight 
hour disturbs not the repose of the guardians of the night.. 
For thirty years past, since the introduction of silk and ma- 
chinery, the shiny "stove-pipe" has supplanted the easy wool 
and felt of our fathers' time, and the business has been wholly 
abandoned, except here and there, where large factoi'ies exist. 

Copper-smithing, too, is a calling almost wholl}^ abandoned 
in our county. In former years it was largely and profitably 
carried on here by Jacob Heyser and others. Mr. Heyser 
came here from Hagerstown in the spring of 1794 ; at the sam& 
time William Baily, Jr., was carrying on the business in the 
shop occupied by his father for a number of years previously. 
Xow copper stills and kettles and other articles are kept for 
sale by all our tinners and stove dealers, but they are gen- 
erally obtained from abroad, from those who make them with 
the aid of the latest and most approved machinery. 

Wagon making was for many years, carried on most exten- 
sively at Loudon, in our count}', after the completion of the 
turnpike to Pittsburg, and Loudon's canvas covered manu- 
factures spread far and wide over both the east and west> 
Now there is not one wagon made at Loudon, where fifty 3'ears. 
aaro there wei*e one hundred made. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 185 

Whip making was also very extensivel}" carried on for many 
3^ears, at Loudon and St. Thomas, in our county. The fame 
of the "Loudon wagon whip" has extended over all parts of 
the country, and especially was its excellencies well known to 
those hardy old "Knights of the Road," who hauled from east 
to west along the great turnpikes crossing the mountains, the 
goods, wares and merchandise needed by the people. It would 
be hard to tell which the old wagoner loved most, his "Loudon 
whip," or his thrice daily drop of "Old Monongahela." The 
manufacture of these celebrated whips was commenced by 
Alexander Elder, at Loudon, about the beginning of this cen- 
tury ; was afterwards followed by James and Samuel Elder, 
(his brothers,) at and near Bridgeport, and was continued by 
them for many years. Subsequently James Kirby, William 
Shelleto and others, carried the business on at Loudon, and in 
later years from 1830 to 1855, Thomas Morgan, James Pattoii 
and James Gf. Elder, carried on the business at St. Thomas, 
making even a larger numljer of whips than at Loudon. Now 
there is not one wliip made in our county, where formerly 
thousands were made. 

The old familj' "spinning wheel," and the "domestic loom," 
by the aid of which our ancestors, one hundred years ago, 
were used to manufacture their yarn and thread, and w^eave 
the "linsey woolsey" worn by their wives and daughters, and 
the corn-colored cloth worn by themselves, are now almost 
forgotten. They are "centennial curiosities" in the present 
day, and few of our young people know even wdiat these ma- 
chines look like, and fewer know how to use them. 

OUR TOWNSHIPS. 

I have been very desirous of ascertaining, if possible, when 
the various towaiships in our county were organized and out 
of wdiat territory they were severally created. The territory 
now embraced in Franklin county was first in Chester county 
until May lOth, 1729, when Lancaster county was formed; 
then in Lancaster county until Januarj^ 29th, 1750, when 
Cumberland county was formed ; and then in Cumberland 
county until September 9th. 1784, when the act creating our 
county was passed. 

The first authenticated action I have been able to find, 



186 IIISTOmCAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

looking to the Lringing of this vallej^ under the operation of 
the laws of the State, Avas the order of the Court of Quarter 
Sessions of I^ancaster countj^, made at November sessions, 
1135, as before stated, dividing the valley into two toionshij)s 
— the easternmost to be called Pennsborough and the western 
Hoi)ewell. This was done before the extinguishment of the 
Indian title to the land, which was eflected hy the treaty with 
the Five Nations, at Philadelphia, October 11th, 1730. The 
government and the Indians had been upon good terms for 
years before, and both parties encouraged settlers to come 
hither, the agents of the Pro2)rietaries giving them special 
licenses to take up lands as early as 1734. 

The division line between Pennsborough and Hopewell 
townships, as has already been stated, crossed the valley at the 
"Big Spring," about where Newville now is, and all the land 
from Newville to the Maryland line was thereafter in Hope- 
well township, Lancaster county, until May sessions, 1741, 
when "upon the application of the inliabitants of the township," 
presented by Richard O'Cain, Esq., the Court of Quarter Ses- 
sions of Lancaster county erected the township of Antrim by 
dividing the township of Hopewell by a line substantially the 
same as that now dividing Franklin and Cumberland counties, 
as has been hereinbefore shown. The territory thus formed 
into the new township of Antrim, was identical with that now 
emln-aced in our count}-, with the exception of the Little Cove, 
or Warren township, and the townsliips of Fannett and Metal. 

I have personally examined the records of Cumberland 
county with great care, and I have had the records of Lancas- 
ter county examined in like manner, by a gentleman of the bar 
resident there ; but w6 liave been unable to obtain an}^ satis- 
factory information as to the time ivheri, or the territorj' out of 
tchich the townships of Lurgan, Peters, Guilford and Hamilton 
were formed. I incline to the belief that Lurgan was created 
by order of the Court of Lancaster county, but no record 
thereof can be found. And if the other three townships were 
created by the action of the courts of Cumberland county, 
they must have been organized immediately after that county 
was erected, though no record of their formation has as yet 
been found. I therefore give but the earliest dates at which I 
I have been able to find mention of them. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIX COUNTY. 187 

ANTRIM — 1741. 

Antrim township was undoubtedl}' named after the county 
of Antrim, Ireland, from whence man}' of the early settlers of 
this valley came. Out of its original territory all our town- 
ships, except Warren, Metal and Fannett, have been made, and 
still it is the largest and wealthiest township in the count}'. 
In the year 1734 Joseph Crunkleton obtained his license, and 
in the 3'ear 1735 he, Jacob Snivel}', James Johnston and James 
Roddy made settlements. Mr. Crunkleton settled upon the 
lands now owned by Benjamin Snively and David Eshleman, 
about two miles east of where Greencastle now stands. Mr. 
Snively upon the farm so long the residence of Andrew Snive- 
ly, dec'd. Mr. Johnston on the lands now owned by Christian 
»Stover and Henry Whitmore, and Mr. Roddy on the farm now 
owned by Andrew Gr. M'Lanahan, Esq., situated upon the Con- 
ococheague creek. They were among the first, if not the very 
first, settlers in the township, and had many Indians for their 
neighbors when they first located. 

The settlement earl}^ took the name of '"The Conococheague 
Settlement," and being fed from the older counties and the 
Old World, was of rapid growth. A Presbj'terian church was 
organized as early as 1737 or 1738, under the name of "The 
East Conococheague Presbyterian Church." Their first church 
edifice, known as the "Red Church," was erected at "Moss 
Spring," three-fourths of a mile east of Greencastle, and there 
the}^ Avorshipped until the erection of the present church in 
Greencastle, in the 3'ear 1830. 

In the 3'ear 1772, or ten years before Greencastle was laid 
out, John Crunkleton laid out a town on the road leading from 
the Conococheague Settlement (now Greencastle) towards 
where Waynesboro now is, about two miles east of Greencas- 
tle, and named the town Crunkleton. Lots were sold sub- 
ject to an annual quit rent ; three houses were built, one of 
which was kept as a tavern b3' George Clark, and in another a 
store was kept b}' John Lawrence. James Clark, one of the 
former Canal Commissioners of our State, passed his youth 
there. The town never got be3'ond its three houses ; two of 
these have been removed, the street and the town plot merged 
into the farm of Benjamin Snivel}', Esq. Its very name is al- 



188 HISTORICAL SKETCH OP FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

most forgotten, and strangers pass over its site without seeing 
any evidences that there a town once existed. 

LURGAN — n43. 

I cannot tell certainh' from what this township took its 
name. Most likely it was called after the town of Lurgan^ in 
the county of Armagh, province of Ulster, Ireland, eighteen 
miles south-west of the city of Belfast, the ]>irth-place of 
James Logan, the secretary of William Pennn, and President 
of the Supreme Executive Council in 1736-'38. 

It originally extended across the eastern end of our county,, 
from the top of the South mountain to the top of the Kitta- 
tinny mountain, and embraced all the territory now within the 
tDwnships of Lurgan, Letterkenny, Green and Southampton. 
The earliest date at which I could find mention of it among- 
the records of Cumberland county is in 1751, but an original 
deed for certain lands in Green township has been shown me,, 
dated December 1, 1753, in which it is set forth that the war- 
rant for the land therein mentioned had been issued in 1743,. 
and that it was then in Lurgan township, Lancaster coimty. 
Whether it ever extended eastward further than the present 
boundary of Cumberland count^^, I cannot say. Being the 
most eastern portion of our county, it was early settled. The 
original settlers were chiefly Scotch-Irish, though some Ger- 
mans were also found in the township at a very early period. 
The "Middle Spring Presbyterian Church" was organized 
about the year 1740. Their church edifice stands but a short 
distance east of the county line in Cumberland county. 

PETERS 1751. 

This township was evidently named after Richard Peters, 
who figured so conspicuously in Colonial times in this State 
as the Secretary of the Colonial Governors, Thomas, Palmer,. 
Hamilton, Morris and Denny, from 1743 to 1762. It appears 
first in the records of Cumberland county in the year 1851, 
and was most likelv created by the courts of that county after 
its organization in 1750. It then embraced all the territory 
in the present townships of Peters and Montgomery, and also 
all that part of the present township of St. Thomas Avest of 
Campbell's run. Its earliest settlers were also chiefly Scotch- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 189 

Irish, as is evidenced by tlieir names, viz.: The Campbells, 
Wilsons, M'Clellands, M'Dowells, Welshs, Smiths, M'Kir- 
neys, &c., &c., who were found in the township as early as 
1730. A Presbyterian church was organized in the j'^ear 1738, 
tinder the name of "The Upper West Conococheague Church,'' 
embracing all the territory now occupied by the congregations 
of Welsh Run, Loudon and St. Thomas. The church edifice 
stood about two miles north-east of where the town of Mercers:- 
burg now stands, and was generally known as the " White 
Church." "Fort Loudon," so well known in "^'e olden time," 
was in this township, and was built by Colonel John xVrm 
strong in the year 1756. It was one of the chain of forts built 
by the colonial government after the defeat of General Brad- 
dock, to keep the Indians out of this valley. 

GUILFORD — 1751. 

This township also appears on the records of Cumberland 
county for the first time in the year 1751, and was most likely 
created by the court of that county. Its earliest settlers were 
mostly Irish, or Scotch-Irish, though there were some English 
among them. I know not from whence it derived its name. 
There is a town called Guildford^ or Gilford in the county of 
Surry, England, and it is stated in history that some of the 
English non-conformists of that region, when persecuted for 
their religious opinions, passed over to the Scots, in the pro- 
vince of Ulster, Ireland, and from thence removed to America. 
It may be that some of them, or their descendants, were among 
the early settlers in this township, and that through them it got 
its name. On the records of Cumberland count}', and in the 
early records of our county, the name is spelled Gilford^ or 
Gillford. I have not found that the boundaries of the town- 
ship were ever difl"erent from what they now are. The town of 
Chambersburg as originally laid out, was wholly within this 
township. The Presbyterian " Congregation of the Falling 
Spring" was organized here about the year 1735. 

HAMILTON — 1752. 

This township was undoubtedly named after James Hamil- 
ton, who was the Governor of the Colou}^ from 1748 to 1754, 
the very period within which|^t must have been created, and 



190 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

also from 1154 to 1763, and from May to October, 1*771. Its 
name first appears on the records of Cumberland county in 
1752, and most likely it was organized by the order of the 
court of that county, about that time, or in the previous year, 
though no record thereof has been found. It originally em- 
braced nearlj'all of the present township of St. Thomas which 
lies east of Campbell's run. Its first settlers were mostly 
Scotch-Irish, who made their settlements at about the same 
time that settlements were made in the surrounding districts. 

FANNET — 1761. 

This township originally embraced the territory now within 
the township of Metal. Patli Valley, in which the greater part 
of the township lies, was in old times called the '■'■Tuscarora 
Path," and the Indian title to the territory between the Kit- 
tochtinny mountains on the east, and the Tuscarora mountain 
on the west, was only extinguished by the treaty made with the 
Six Nations, at Easton, on the 2od of October, 1758. Long be- 
fore that period, however, settlers had crowded into Path, Horse 
and Amberson's Valleys, attracted by the beauty of the lands 
within them. These intrusions are said to have commenced 
as early as 1744, but were in violation of the agreement be- 
tween the Colonial authorities and the Indians, and the latter 
made complaint to the government, and threatened to redress 
their grievances themselves if the intruders were not promptlj' 
removed. The government called upon the magistrates of 
Cumberland county to redress the wronars of the Indians by 
expelling the settlers. Accordingly, in May, 1750, Richard 
Peters, the Secretary of the Governor, attended by Benjamin / 
Chambers, William Maxwell, William Allison, John Finley 
and others, magistrates of the county of Cumberland, went 
over to "Path Valle}', where they found many settlements. 
They had Abraham Slack, James Blair, Moses Moore, Arthur 
Dunlap, Alex. M'Cartie, David Lewis, Adam M'Cartie, Felix 
Doyle, Andrew Dunlap, Robert Wilson, Jacob Pyatt, William 
Ramage, Reynold Alexander, Samuel Patterson, John Arm- 
strong, John Potts alKTotheii'S brought before them, who were 
all convicted, and put under bonds to remove at once out of the 
valley with their families, servants and effects, and to ap- 
pear at court at Carlisle and answer such charges as might be 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 191 

made against them. Their houses, cabins, and other improve- 
ments were then all burned to the ground, by order of the 
magistrates. After the purchase of the land from the Indians 
some of these men returned and located lands in the valley, 
and their descendants are there yet. 

The first mention that I have found of the name of this . 
township (Fannett) in the records of Cumberland county is in 
the year 17C1. It was undoubtedly organized by the order of 
the Court of Quarter Sessions of that count}^, most probably in 
that or the preceding j^ear. Its original shape was that of a 
long, narrow point ; and it is said that it was named by its 
early settlers, who were mostly Scotch-Irish, after " Fannett 
Point," a promontory and light house in the county of Done- 
gal, Province of Ulster, Ireland. 

Richard and John Coulter took up a large body of land in 
the upper end of the township, near Concord, in the year 1756, 
and Francis Amberson settled in the valley now called after 
him, ''Amberson's Yalley," in the year 17G3. Soon afterwards 
Barnabas Clark, after whom "Clark's Knob" is named, John 
Ward, Cromwell M'Vitty and others also settled in the latter 
named valle}', and their descendants are now among its most 
prominent citizens. There are two post offices, one large steam 
tannery, two churches, (one Union and one Protestant Metho- 
dist,) one general store, three blacksmith shops, one cabinet- 
maker shop, three carpenter shops, one wheelwright shop, and 
four good school houses in this little valley. 

LETTERKENN Y 1 7 G2. 

This township was formed out of the southern part of Lur- 
gan township, by order of the court of Cumberland county, 
about the year 1760 or 1761, and then included the territory 
now in Greene township. The first mention that I find of it 
in the records of the Court of Quarter Sessions of that county 
was at March term, 1762. What it took its name from I can- 
not say. Some affirm that there is a town, or district, of the 
same name in Ireland, and that the early settlers being mostly 
Scotch-Irish, the township was called after it. But I have not 
been able to find that there is any such a place in the "Green 
Isle," and therefore cannot say that this statement is either 
true or false. Settlements and improvements were made in 



192 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRAiS'KLlN COUNTY. 

that region of the county shortly after the year 1730, though 
the office rights issued and survej-s made do not date back 
earlier than 1736, the year the Indian title was extinguished. 

John B. Kaufman, Esq., our present county surveyor, who is a 
native of the townsliip, and fully acquainted with the facts con- 
,nected with its early settlement, saj's : ''Several surveys were 
made and warrants issued in 1736, 1744 and 1746, but they 
were not very numerous until 1750, though we find abundant 
evidences prior to this latter date that settlements had been 
made years before. When the French and Indian war became 
serious in 1755, and the settlers were burnt out, or massacred, 
and could not remain in safety, many of them abandoned their 
improvements and removed eastward into the older settle- 
ments. Emigration was checked and almost totally ceased 
until about the j-ear 1760 or 1762. Then there was a large in- 
flux of settlers, and by the time the revolution broke out the 
farming lands both in this valley and in Horse valley were 
largely taken up. I cannot find either warrants or surve^-s in 
Letterkenny township prior to 1762." 

"From this date the oflice rights multiply x'apidly, especially 
after the cheaper rates of £5 sterling per hundred acres were 
inaugurated under the application system. This S3'^stem went 
into effect in 1766. All that was necessary, as' long as this 
law was in force, was for the settler to make application to the 
Land Office for so many acres, bounded by certain lands. An 
order of survey was then issued, and the applicant, for a small 
fee for his application and order of survey, could take up a 
tract not exceeding four hundred acres, without paying for 
the land a farthing, except the fees above named, and the ex- 
penses of surveying. It was expected that the land would be 
paid for after the return of the survey, and a patent then be 
taken out. This, however, was frequently not done, and the 
purchase money of many tracts has not yet been paid to the 
Commonwealth. The land then cost twent3'-two and two- 
tenths cents per acre ; hence it is not wonderful that as soon 
as the Indian troubles ceased the lands in Letterkenny were 
rapidly occupied. As this township is mostly slate land, now 
considered by many as inferior to the limestone and freestone, 
or pine lands of Green, Southampton, Guilford, Antrim, etc., 
it may seem strange that the first settlers selected the slate 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 193 

lands, which were often quite hill}^, in preference to the others. 
But when it is remenibered that the slate lands were heavily 
timbered, and had abundant springs and meadows, and were 
smoother and easily cultivated ; and the limestone lands were 
nearl3' all quite destitute of timber, were often poorly watered^ 
were broken by ridges of rock, and were in other respects un- 
inviting and barren, the reasons for their preference are easily 
seen." 

"Some settlers who had taken out warrants at an early daj'' 
at £15, 10s. per one hundred acres, and paid a part of the pur- 
chase money, afterwards, when the rates were reduced, aban- 
doned the old warrants and took out new ones and obtained 
patents on them. But as the Scotch-Irish of those days were 
actual settlers, and not speculators, whenever they went to the 
trouble to obtain evidence of title they generally lived on 
their lands and retained them." 

"After the battle of Trenton some of the Hessians captured 
there found their way to this vicinity, and settling here, be- 
■came useful and industrious citizens, and their descendants 
are amongst the most worthy and respectable of our people." 

"So much has been said in praise of the Scotch-Irish pio- 
neer that I will not spoil a subject so well handled and oft 
repeated by enlarging upon it. And concerning the 'Dutch- 
jnan,' who has taken his place, in a great measure, he has done 
his part so quietly that there is not much to say about him. 
When the Germans first made their appearance the old pioneer 
did not always look upon them with much favor, and it is said 
that one of them who did not like 'Hans,' wondered, rever- 
ently, of course, 'what God Almighty meant in making the 
Dutchman and letting him have the best of the land besides.' " 

"But the Scotch-Irishman, sturdy and strong, upright and 
fearless, if not a very successful farmer, still performed a mis- 
sion that cannot be easily overestimated, and as a descendant 
of a Swiss German, I can and do cheerfully give my meed of 
praise to the early settlers of the Cumberland Valley." 

Major James M'Calmont, so famous in early times as an 
Indian fighter, was born near Strasburg, in this township. 
Because of the massacre of certain of his neighbors and ac- 
quaintances, he became the sworn enemy of the savages. He 
was peculiarly fleet of foot, knew ever}- nook and corner of 
13 



194 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

the country, was a sure shot, and had man}' hair-breadth 
escapes in his contests with the Indians, many of whom are 
said to have fallen by his gun. He is said to have been very 
modest when speaking of his exploits, and never admitted 
that he had killed an Indian. He would say : "I shot at him," 
and it was pretty well understood that when he shot at an 
Indian there was a savage that needed burial. 

'^The Rocky Spring" Presbyterian Church is within the 
bounds of this township. It was organized about the year 
lto8, and had a very large membership for many years. 

WASHINGTON — 1179. 

This township was organized by an order of the Court of 
Quarter Sessions of Cumberland county about April term, 
1*779, out of Antrim township. At January term, 1779, a 
petition of the citizens of Antrim township was presented,, 
praying for the division of that township, and James John- 
ston, Abraham Smith, Humphrey Fullerton, James M'Cleue- 
han, Elias Davison and 'William Finley were appointed com- 
missioners to examine and report upon the propriety of the 
division. I have been unable to find any record of the report 
of these commissioners, nor of the action of the court thereon. 
Thev should have reported to April term, 1779, and most 
probably did, as the name of the new township — Washington 
— appears upon the record of the court immediately there- 
after. It was called after General Washington, who was then 
"first in the hearts of his countrymen," as the leader of their 
armies in the contest then going on for the independence of 
the United Colonies. The new township took from Antrim 
more than one-half the latter's area, and embraced all that 
territory now within the township of Quincy. 

Settlements were made in what is now Washington town- 
ship as early as 1735-'-iO. The tract of land upon which 
Waynesboro now stands was taken up in 1749. The first road 
from what is now Fulton county (then Cumberland county) 
through Peters and Antrim, and what is now Waahington 
township, was laid out by order of the Court of Quarter Ses- 
sions of Cumberland county in the year 1768. At the April 
sessions of the courts of Cumberland county, in the year 1761^ 
a petition of the citizens of Peters township was presented. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 105 

setting forth "that thej^ have no prospect for a standing 
market for the produce of their countr}', onl}^ at Baltimore, 
and having no road leading from their township to said town 
of Baltimore, and flour being the principal commodity their 
township produceth, and having tico mills in said township^ 
viz: John M'Dowell's and William Smith's, they pray the 
court to appoint men to view and lay out a road from each of 
said mills to meet at or near the house of William Maxwell,, 
and from thence to run by the nearest and best way towards 
said town of Baltimore until it intersects the '■'■ temporary line,^^ 
or tlie line of York county. The Court appointed Henry 
Pawlin, James Jack, John Allison, Joseph Bradner, John 
M'Clellan, Jr., and William Holliday, viewers, any four of 
them to make report. Xo report was made until April term^ 
1768, when the viewers reported in favor of a road, for the 
accommodation of the people of Peters, Air and Hamilton 
townships. The roads were to be '■''bridle roads" from the 
mills to the boundaries of Peters township. They were to- 
unite at or near James Irwin's mill, in Peters tov/nship, thence 
crossing the Conococheague creek at the mouth of Muddy run,. 
thence through Antrim township to the Gap, commonly called 
"Nicholson's," in the South mountain, and thence to the town 
of Baltimoi-e. This is substantially the route of the present 
turnpike from Mercersburg, by way of Greencastle and 
Waynesboro, towards Baltimore, and the reason that none of 
these towns are named is because they were not then ia 
existence. 

MONTGOMERY — 1781. 

This township was formed out of the southern part of Peters 
township, by a decree of the Court of Quarter Sessions of 
Cumberland county. At the October term, 1*780, the petition 
for the division of the township was presented, and the court 
appointed James Maxwell, John M'Clellan, John Work, James 
Campbell, Adam Holliday and Thomas Campbell to examine 
and report upon the propriety of the division. They reported 
at January term, 1781, and their report was then confirmed, di- 
viding the township as follows, viz : "Beginning at a pine on 
the ]5edford county line, thence five hundred perches to the 
south branch of Smith's rim ; thence down said run an easterly 



296 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

'Course until where it empties into the West Conococheague 
creek ; thence south seventy-one degrees, east nine hundred 
and ninety-four perches to the Baltimore road, near Charles 
Lowry's ; thence north eighty degrees, cast one thousand one 
hundred and forty perches to a buttonwood tree standing on 
the bank of the East Conococheague creek, at the mouth of 
Wood's run, being the wliole extent of said division line — the 
south side to be called 'Montgomer3\' " This name was un- 
doubtedly selected in honor of Brigadier General Richard 
Montgomery, who had been killed in the attack upon (Quebec, 
Canada, on the 31st of December, 1775. The first settlers 
"were mostly Scotch-Irish, though there were a number of Welsh 
in the south-eastern part of the township, from whom the 
present village of "Welsh Run" took its name. They located 
between the j^ears 1730 and 1735. The first Presbyterian 
chui'ch there was organized about the year 1736, about which 
time their first church edifice was erected, which was used 
until the year 1760, when it was burned by the Indians. In 
17 41 the Upper West Conococheague Presbyterian congrega- 
tion was divided, and a congregation organized in the Welsh 
Run district, under the name of "The Lower West Conoco- 
cheague Church." About 1774 they built their second church, 
which was used until the present beautiful structure ("The 
Hobert Kennedy Memorial Presbyterian Church") was put up 
•on the site of the old church, and dedicated September 30th, 
1871. 

On the 1st of September, 1787, Mr. John Kennedy, one of 
the citizens of this township, and the owner of live hundred 
acres of land in it, advertised through the Carlisle Gazette that 
.•he had laid out a new town at the forks of the east and west 
branches of the Conococheague creek ; that there were two 
hundred and twenty-six lots in his town, each of which was 
eighty-two and one-half feet wide by one hundred and sixty- 
five feet deep ; that the streets were to be sixty and eighty feet 
wide, two of which were named "Water street," (east and west ;) 
that the lots were to be disposed of by lottery on the 13th of 
November, 1787 ; that each lot must be inclosed with a rail or 
paling fence within three years, and a house of brick, stone, 
frame or log, at least twenty-two feet square, with a chimney 
of brick or stone, must be put up within five years, and that 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIX COUNTY. 19T 

the annual quit rent on each lot would be three bushels of mer- 
chantable wheat. No name was given to the new town, and 
the whole enterprise must have been abandoned for some cause 
or another. A wharf and a warehouse were erected at the site 
of this town many years ago, and wheat and other grains pur- 
chased and floated down from the East and West branches of the- 
Conococheague in flat boats to the Potomac, and by that river to 
Georgetown, which was then the principal market for the pro- 
ducts of this region of countr3\ The erection of the mill dams 
on the creek interfered with this trade, and it was long ago- 
abandoned. An oar, about fifteen feet long, which was used 
on one of these flat boats, is still in the possession of Mr. Laza- 
rus Kennedy, who resides upon and owns the farm of his an- 
cestor who laid out this unnamed town in IT 87. 

SOUTHAMPTON — 1783. 

This township was organized out of the south-eastern part 
of Lurgan township, by the order of the Court of Quarter 
Sessions of Cumberland county, about the year 1733. I have 
been unable to find the exact date of its organization, but as 
it appears upon the records of that county in that year, and 
does not appear earlier, it must have been organized about 
that time. Its earliest settlers were also Scotch-Irish, who lo- 
cated in that township (then Hopewell, Cumberland county) 
as far back as the year 1738. It is said that the township was 
called after the county of Southampton, in the south of Eng- 
land, in which there is a city and important seaport, of the- 
same name, containing about 60,000 inhabitants. 

FRANKLIN — 1784. 

This townships appears on the records of our county in the 
year 1785, and was carried along upon the books of the Com- 
missioners' office, for taxation purposes, as late as the year 
1822. I could find no trace of it on the records of Cumber- 
land county, and therefore it must have been qrganized by art 
order of the Court of Quarter Sessions of this county in 1784^ 
or in the early part of 1785. It was formed out of parts of 
Guilford and -Hamilton townships, and embraced the town plot 
of Chambersburg, and seven tracts of land adjacent thereto in 
both townships, containing about 1,150 acres. The borough of 



11)8 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

C!ham])ersburg was erected b}- an Act of Assembly approved 
:i21.st March, 1803, with boundaries greatly less in extent than 
those of the township of Franklin, yet the assessments were 
made for the township for nineteen years afterwards, and how 
the township organization was then gotten rid of, and the sur- 
plus land, outside the borough limits, returned to the adjoin- 
ing townships, I cannot tell. It may have been done by the 
order of our Court of Quarter Sessions, but as all the records 
of that Coiirt prior to 18(54, were destroyed when our town 
was burnt on the 30th of July in that year, I cannot speak 
with any certainty as to any action of that Court in relation 
to this township. It was undoubtedl}' named after our county. 

GREENE — 1188. 

This township was formed out of the eastern end of Letter- 
tenny township, b^^ an order of the Court of Quarter Sessions 
•of our county in the year 1188. The records containing th^ 
action of the Court no longer exist, but there are contempora- 
neous records in the Commissioners' otfice which show that the 
township did not exist in 1187, and did exist in 1788. Be- 
sides this, the township officers have the township records of 
1788, which show the election held that year for their first 
township officers. These data render it certain that the town- 
ship was organized in 1787, or in the early part of 1788. It 
was undoubted!}' named after Major General Nathaniel Greene, 
of the revolutionar}^ army, who but a few years before had so 
gallantly contested the possession of the Carolinas with the 
British troops under Lord Cornwallis. 

The original settlers in this township (then Hopewell or 
Lurgan,) were Scotch-Irish Presbj^terians, who came into it 
contemporaneousl}^ with the settlement of the surrounding 
(districts, I have not been given the dates of their settlements 
,and cannot therefore particularize them. Among them were 
the Armstrongs, Thomsons, Ramages, Stewarts, Culbertsons, 
3I'Clays, Hendersons, Criswells, Bittingers, Fergusons, Bairds, 
Johnsons, &c., <^c., who lived there many years, who are buried 
there, and whose descendants are among the most worthy in the 
township, and still adhere to the faith of their forefathers. A 
house built in 1755, one hundred and twenty-one 3'^ears ago, is 
still standing, and in a fair state of preservation. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 199 

The town of Greenvillage stands npon the summit level be- 
'tween the Susquehanna and Potomac, the waters arising east 
of it flowing into the former, and those rising west of it flow- 
ing into the latter. Tears ago a certain James M'Nulty, a 
Roman Catholic, kept a tavern in the village and the celebrated 
Lorenzo Dow frequently preached in his bar-room to crowded 
audiences, '■'subject to certain rules^^' among which was one that 
he should not abuse the Catholics, and whenever Lorenzo in 
his haste or zeal forgot the " rules,^^ out ^vent the candle, and 
the preacher and his audience were left in the dark. 

METAL — 1195. 
This township was formed out of the southern end of old 
Fannett, by the order of the Court of Quarter Sessions of 
this county, about the year 1795. As in the case of Franklin 
and Greene townships, no record of its organization can be 
found, because of the destruction of the records of the court. 
Eut from the records referred to before, as existing in the 
Commissioners' office, (wherein tables containing the names of 
all the townships are found,) it is certain that this township 
must have been created about 1795, for its name does }iot ap- 
pear in 1795, and does appear in May 1796. Its earliest settlers 
were chiefly Scotch-Irish, of the same religious faith as those 
who settled in the upper part of the Path Yalley. Among 
them were the Elliotts, Walkers, Nobles, M'Connells, Kilgores, 
Alexanders, M'Cartneys, M'Curdj's, Elders, Skinners, Camp- 
bells, Mackeys, Montgomerys, Armstrongs, &c., &c. A Presb}-- 
terian congregation was formed about the year 1767, composed 
of the Presbyterians of the whole valley. They early differed 
as to the location of their church edifice, and finallj^ divided 
and formed two congregations, that in the southern end of the 
valley taking the name of " The Lower Path Yalley Presbyte- 
rian Church," built their church about one mile south of where 
Fannettsburg now stands. The congregation in the northern 
part of the valley took the name of " The Upper Path Yalley 
Presbyterian Church," and built their church edifice where 
the village of Spring Run now stands. The reverend Amos 
A. M'Ginley ministered to both churches from 1802 to 1851 — 
nearly fifty years. When first called his salary was fixed at 
five hundred dollars per year, one-half of which was paid by 



200 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FllANKLIN COUNTY. 

each congregation. About the year 1820 or 1823, when times 
became very hard, money scarce and everj^thing very high, 
the sessions of the churches met and added two hundred dol- 
lars to their pastor's salar}^, one-half thereof to be paid by 
each congregation. In a few years, when times became better 
and prices lower, Mr. M'Ginley called the sessions of the 
churches together and told them that the}' must take ofl' the 
extra two hundred dollars, and he afterwards continued to 
preach for them until his retirement, in 1851, at his old salary 
of five hundred dollars. Few clergymen can be found in these- 
days who would act so disinterestedly as did Dr. M'Ginley in 
this case. 

This townshij) was undoubtedly so called because of the large 
quantity of metal to be found within its boundaries. 

WARREN — 1798. 

The "Little Cove," as this district was called in former 
times, was a part of Bedford county until the 29th of March, 
1*798, when an Act of Assembly was approved annexing it to 
our county, and making it a part of Montgomery township. 
It was formed into a township during that year, by an order 
of the Court of Quarter Sessions of our county, and called 
" Warren," in honor of Brigadier General Joseph Warren, who 
had been killed at the battle of Bunker Hill, on the 17th of 
June, 1776. Because of the destruction of our county records 
I have been unable to fix the exact date of the order of court 
organizing the township, but it must have beeu between the' 
April and August terms of that year, for on the 3d of Janu- 
ary, 1799, the County Commissioners paid Benjamin Williams 
six dollars, in part of his services for assessing Warren town- 
ship. 

Settlements were made in this township as early as 1740. 
Quite a number of them were under rights from Lord Balti- 
more and the Mar3dand authorities, whilst the true position 
of the boundary line between Maryland and Pennsylvania was 
yet undetermined. There are no towns in the township. 

ST. THOMAS — 1818-1820. 

This township was formed out of territory taken from Peters 
and Hamilton. That part of the township east of Campbell's. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 201 

run was taken from Hamilton, that loent of the run from 
Peters. The precise date of its organization is in more doubt 
than the organization of townships formed in the last century. 
The records of our Court of Quarter Sessions, by whose order 
it was created, have been destroyed, and no contemporaneous 
record, either in the township or elsew^here, has been found 
that would fix the date. The first assess book for the laying 
of a tax in it was issued in November, 1820, but citizens of 
the township claim that it was formed in 1818. 

The early settlers in the township were chiefly Scotch-Irish, 
who went there between 1133 and 173*7. There were also 
some Germans in the eastern or Hamilton part of the township 
at a very early date. 

The township, it is said by old residents, was called after 
Thomas Campbell, the founder of Campbellstown, (or St. 
Thomas, as it is now called,) by putting the prefix Saint to 
his given name, making the new name " St. Thomas." 

QUixcY— 183t-1838. 

This township was formed out of the northern part of Wash- 
ington township, by the Court of Quarter Sessions of our 
county, and embraces rather more than the one-half of the 
territory originally in Washington township. It was organ- 
ized very late in the year 183'!, or within the first nine months 
of 1838. The assess books for 1831 were issued in November 
of that year and no book for this township appears amongst 
them, whereas it does appear among those issued in November,. 
1838. 

The country now embraced in the township was early settled 
by a mixed population of Germans and Scotch-Irish. Freder- 
ick Fisher located in 1737 ; George Wertz came from York 
county in 1745 ; Adam Small settled about the same time. 
John Snowberger, a Swiss, settled in 1750; John M'Cleary, 
of Scotland, in 1768, and his descendants occupied tlie same 
tract of land for one hundred and two 3'ears. Christopher 
Dull, Abraham Knepper, Adam Small, George Royer, John 
and George Cook, Samuel Toms, John Heefner and others 
were early settlers. 

William Hayman, Jr., says : " The first settlers were a hardy 
and industrious class of men, who came principally from Ger- 



202 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

many, or from other districts of this country settled by the 
Germans. The}- had no lofty affixes or suffixes to their names. 
There were no Generals, Colonels or "D. D.'s" amongst them ; 
and as they were plain and economical in their style of living, 
having few luxuries, they seldom needed the '^M. D.'s" They 
were peaceabh', and strictl}- honest in their dealings with their 
neighbors and fellow men. They loved the institutions of the 
land, and were slow to favor innovations, thinking that the 
old and well-known ways were the best. They went in for the 
substantials of life. Their clothing was plain and comfortable, 
both in summer and in winter. Shoddy was unknown to them. 
Every farmer put out a small patch of flax for himself and his 
household. The fields yielded abundantly, and the men 
served their country as faithfuU}^ in raising produce for the 
sustenance of mankind as many who occupied public stations 
and bore arms." 

This township is very rich in iron ores and other minerals, 
and has in it some of the most productive farm lands in our 
county. The old residents sa}- that it was called after John 
Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States. 

rOST OFFICES IN FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

The first settlement in our county, as has heretofore been 
stated, was made about the year 1730. Thirt^^-fouv years 
afterwards, or in 1*764, the town of Chambersburg was laid 
out, and twenty -years after that, or in 1784, the county of 
Fi'anklin was formed, and yet it was not until six years later, 
or in 1790, that the people of the county were given a post 
office. Considerable settlements had been in existence for 
years before at Fort Loudon, Chambersburg, Mercersburg, 
Greencastle, Waynesboro', Roxbury, Strasburg, St. Thomas 
and other points in the county, whilst the population had in- 
creased from between three and four thousand in 1750, to nearly 
fourteen thousand in 1784, and numbered fifteen thousand six 
hundred and fift^^-five in 1790 ; and yet for nearly sixty years 
our ancestors in this part of the Cumberland Yalley had not 
a single post office among them. How they were able to trans- 
act their necessary public and private business, it is difficult 
to imagine. It is well known that letters were not near as 
numerous then as now ; but how a people numbering nearly 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



203 



sixteen thousand, with a county organization, and all the conse- 
quent public and private correspondence, could thus get along 
for six years, I cannot conceive. Of course they had to de- 
pend upon the courtesy of travelers, or neighbors, or rely upon 
private post riders, for the transmission of their letters and 
other postal matter. 

The Hon, James H. Marr, Acting First Assistant Post Mas- 
ter General, has certified to me the following list of the post 

offices in our county, with the dates of their establishment re- 
spectively, and the names of the first post masters, viz : 

Chambersburg, John Martin, appointed P. M. June 1, 1790 

Oreencastle, John Watson, '^ 

Mercersburg, James Bahn, " 

Pannettsburg, James Sweeny, " 

Brown's Mills, William Brown, " 

Concord, Edward W. Doyle, " 

Waynesboro, Michael Stoner, " 

Roxburv, William Revnolds, " 

^St. Thomas. John Shafer, " 

Dry Run, Wm, Campl)ell, Jr., " 

Payetteville, John Darby, " 

Greenvillage, James M'Nulty, " 

Jackson Hall, John S. Kerr, " 

Loudon, Benjamin Stenger, '• 

Upper Strasburg, Wm. M'Clellan, " 

State Line, David Brumbaugh. " 

Quincy, Jacob Byer, " 

Welsli Run, John Eldon, " 

Marion, William Martin, " 

Orrstown, James B. Oir, " 

Sjdvan, William Bowers, " 

Bridgeport Mills, Martin Hoover, " 

Mont Alto, John Kuhn, " 

Scotland, George R. M'llroy, " 

Spring Run, Wm. A. Mackey, " 

Amberson's Yalley, B. J Culbertson, " 

Doylesburg, Philip T. Doyle, " 

Carrick Furnace, Geo. W. Swank, " 

Shady Grove, Fred. B. Snively, " 

Mount Parnel, John MuUan, " 

Clay Lick, Elam B. Winger, " 

Mowersvillc, Jacob Snoke, " 

New Bridge, H. P. Piper, " 

Mason and Dixon, A. B. Barnhart, " 

Richmond Fui-nace,W. Burgess, " 



April 


4, 1799 


Jan. 


1, 1803 


March 30,1809 


July 


1, 1813 


Jan. 


16, 1816 


Dec. 


31, 1818 


Feb. 


5, 1822 


Feb. 


21, 1824 


Sept. 


15, 1825 


Sept. 


4, 1826 


Sept. 


12, 1827 


Jan. 


12, 1828 


Dec. 


24, 1828 


Feb. 


28, 1828 


Feb. 


9, 1830 


March 27,1830 


May 


17, 1830 


March 2, 1833 


Jan. 


26, 1836 


Feb. 


3, 1837 


Feb. 


15, 1837 


Dec. 


14, 1843 


June 


26, 1849 


Nov. 


13, 1850 


Dec. 


16, 1850 


May 


23, 1854 


July 


5, 1860 


Dec. 


7, 1860 


April 


3, 1862 


April 


.21, 1862 


March 3, 1868 


Sept. 


8, 1868 


May 


15, 1868 


May 


23,1872 



204 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Williamson. E. H. Hagennan, api)ointcd P. M. Aug. 20, 18t2 
Five Forks, W. H. Brown. "- March 5, 187S 

llouzersville, C. A. Buhrman, " June 26, 1873 

Lehmastcr's, C. Plum, '' 1877 

Warren Point, Archibald S. Wonger, " Feb. 1878- 

TOWNS AND VILLAGES IN FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Alto^ Dale. See Funkstown. 

Bridgeport (P. O., Bridgeport Mills) is situated in Peters 
township, at the intersection of the roads from St. Thomas ta 
Mercersburg, and from Loudon to Tipton. It is a very old 
settlement. As early as 1730 or 1731 John, William, Xathan 
and James M'Dowell, four brothers, took up a large quantity 
of land immediately around where the village now is. Within 
a few years afterwards, John M'Dowell built a grist mill, and 
in 1756 built the fort, which during those early days was sO' 
well known as "M'Dowell's fort." A magazine was early estab- 
lished there by the colonial authorities for the deposit and safe 
keeping of arms and munitions of war. About fifty-five 3"ears 
ago the stone bridge was built there over the w^est branch of 
the Conococheague, and from that time the place was called 
Bridgeport. The town has grown up principall}' within the 
last twenty-five or thirty j'ears. The population is now near 
one hundred and fifty. 

Camp Hill is situated in Montgomery township, at the base 
of Casey's Knob, six miles south of Mercersburg. It was 
started by William Auld, Esq., aliout the year 1830, and took 
its name from a large camp meeting that was held there at 
that time. Its population numbers nearly fifty persons. 

Carrick (P. 0., Carrick Furnace) is situated in Metal town- 
ship, on the road leading from Loudon through Path Valley 
northward, about four miles south of Fannettsburg. Carrick 
Furnace was built b}^ General Samuel Dunn in the year 1828. 
It is now carried on by R. M. Shalter and manufactures about 
thirty tons of iron per week. The population of the village 
is about one hundred and twent}- persons. 

Cashtown is situated in Hamilton township, on the slate 
road leading from Chambersburg to Mercersburg, six miles 
from the former place. Its population numbers about fifty 
persons. 



I 



IITSTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 205 

Centre, or Centre Square, is situated in Lurgan township, 
on the road leading from Orrstown to Roxhur}-. The popu- 
lation numbers about one hundred and fifty persons. 

CiiAMBERSBURG (P. 0.) is situated at the- confluence of the 
Conococheague creek and the Falling Spring. Benjamin 
Chambers settled here about the year 1730. On the 30th of 
March, 1734, before the Indian title was extinguished, he ob- 
tained a license from Samuel Blunston, the agent of the Penns, 
to take up four hundred acres of land, on both sides of the 
•creek, at the point where Chambersburg now stands. He 
immediately built a saw mill at the mouth of the Falling 
Spring, and a few years afterwards erected a flour mill just 
south of his saw mill. In the early part of June, 17G4, Colo- 
nel Chambers laid out the town of Chambersburg, and on 
Thursdaj^, the 28th day of that month, held a lottery to dis- 
i:)Ose of the lots. The town grew slowly, and lots commanded 
but poor prices, as thirteen years afterwards, viz : on the 12th 
day of July, 1777, Colonel Chambers sold the lot Trestle's 
tavern now stands upon to Nicholas Snyder for one pound ten 
shillings, Pennsylvania currenc}^, (or $4 00 of our present 
money,) upon the condition that within two ^-ears he should 
build a house upon it at least sixteen feet square^ and forever 
pa}^ an annual quit rent of fifteen shillings to the said Cham- 
bers, or his heirs or assigns. 

In September, 1784, by the act creating the county of 
Franklin, Chambersburg was made the county seat of the new- 
county. Its population was then not more than four or five 
hundred. In 1786 there were ninety-six houses here, and in 
1788 one hundred and thirty-four. We have now about 1,085 
houses, of stone, brick and framed timber, all of them sub- 
stantially, and many of them tastefully built and ornamented. 
We have fourteen churches, viz : two Presbyterian, one Re- 
formed, one English Lutheran, one Protestant Episcopal, two 
Methodist Episcopal, one German Reformed, one Baptist, one 
German Lutheran, one United Brethern, one Roman Catholic, 
and two colored Methodist. Our Court House is one of the 
best in the State, whilst our prison is a disgrace to the county. 
We have two banks, with commodious banking rooms, a 
convenient and tasteful Masonic Hall, two Odd Fellows' Halls, 
'•Repository Hall," for public meetings, concerts, &c., and 



206 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

seven of the most convenient and laest conducted hotels to be 
found anywhere in the interior of the State. We have also 
an immense straw-paper mill, (Ileyser's,) a large steam flour- 
ing mill, (Christian Burkhardt's,) the Chambersburg flour mill, 
and the Chambersburg Woolen Mills. We have also the 
foundry and iron ivorks of T. 13. Wood & Co., and the furni- 
ture manufactor}^ of Henry Sierer & Co., where ever3-thing in 
their lines of business is made, and we have water works and 
gas works. Our population is about six thousand eight hun- 
dred, and our municipal debt does not exceed ninety-live thou- 
sand dollars. The borough of Chambersburg was formed out 
of parts of the townships of Guilford and Hamilton, by an 
Act of Assembly approved 21st March, 1803, and has been 
enlarged several times since by the action of the Court of 
Quarter Sessions. 

(According to "Sheriff's Directory of Chambersburg," pub- 
lished in December, 18TT, the population of our town is esti- 
mated to be seven thousand four hundred and sixty-four.) 

Charlestown is situated in Peters township, on the turn- 
pike leading from Mercersburg to M'Connellsburg, about three 
miles from the former place. It has a population of near fifty 
persons. 

CiiEESETOWN is situated in Hamilton township, three miles 
northwest of Chambersburg, on the road leading towards 
Keefer's store. It was begun by Joseph Bowman about the 
year 1840, and has a population of nearly forty persons. 

Church Hill is a small village in Peters township, on the 
"Warm Spring" road. It has sprung up recently, and is lo- 
cated upon land formerly the property of the "Old White 
Church," from which it takes its name. The population num- 
bers about thirty persons. 

Clay Lick (P. O.) is situate in Montgomery township, at 
the base of Clay Lick mountain, from which it takes its name. 
It was begun by Jacob Negley about the year 1831. Its popu- 
lation is nearly one hundred. 

Concord (P. O.) is situated in Fannett township, in the 
upper end of Path Valley. It was laid out by James Widncy, 
and the first sale of lots for building purposes was made by 
him in the year 1*197. It was doubtless called after Concord^ 
Massachusetts, the place where, on the 19th of April, 1775, 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 207 

the British troops under Lieut. Col. Smith, first felt the temper 
of the Continental Minute men. The town now contains 
thirty-four dwellings, two churches, two stores, one hotel and 
one grist mill, and one hundred and seventj'-six inhabitants. 

Cove Gap is situated in Peters township, at the point where 
the public road leading out of the Little Cove, or Warren 
township, intersects the turnpike leading from M'Connellsburg 
to Mercersburg. Its population is about fifty persons. 

DoYLESBURG (P. 0.) is situated in Fannett township, three 
miles south of Concord, at the mouth of Burns' Yalley, on the 
public road from Concord to Dry Run. It Avas laid out by 
Philip T, Doyle, in the year 1851, and contains a large steam 
tannery, one store and eleven dwellings, with a population of 
about seventy persons. 

Dry Run (P. 0.) is situated in Path Yalley. Fannett town- 
ship, eight miles north of Fannettsburg. The first house was 
built by John Holliday, in the year 1833. James Stark bi^ilt 
the second one about the year 1836. In 1838 Stephen Skin- 
ner laid out the town and called it "Morrowstown," (Morrow, 
being the maiden name of his wife.) By tliis name it was 
known for many years. It had been called "Dry Run" before 
the town was laid out, from the fact that the stream which 
passes through the town frequently ceased to flow. The older 
name was preferred to that of Morrowstown, and has now 
come into general use. The population numbers one hundred 
and eighty persons. 

Fairview is situated in Southampton township, at the point 
where the road from Shippensburg to Roxbury crosses the 
Conodoguinet creek. It was laid out by the late William G- 
M'Lellan, Esq., of Strasburg, about twenty-five years ago» 
Its population numbers ninety persons. 

Fannettsburg (P. O.) is situated in Metal township, on the 
old "Tuscarora Path," twelve miles north of Loudon. Settle- 
ments were made at this point as early as 1T8T, but the town 
was laid out by William M'Intyre, ou the 25th of July, in the 
year 1190, and took its name from the township of Fannett, of 
which it then formed a part. The lots were sold at the price 
of four to six pounds, subject to a quit rent of seven shillings 
and six pence each. A number of these quit rents yet exist. 
There is one church (Methodist) and a public hall in the town 



208 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

and two churches, one Presbyterian and one Reformed, near 
the town. The population numbers about three hundred. ' 

Fayettville (P. 0.) is situated in Greene township, on the 
turnpike road leading from Chambersburg, to Gettysburg, six 
miles east of the former place. Settlements were made in this 
neighborhood at a very earl}^ daj'. Edward Crawford owned 
a very large tract of land — a thousand acres or more — but a 
short distance south of where the village stands. In the year 
1768 a petition was presented to the Court of Quarter Sessions 
of Cumberland county, from citizens of Peters, Hamilton and 
Guilford townships, for a public road leading from James 
Campbell's, near Loudon, through Chambersburg, to the 
county line in Black's Gap. Edward Crawford, Josiah Cook, 
George Brown, William M'Brier, William Holliday and Na- 
than M'Dowell, were appointed viewers, who reported favora- 
bly^ and at January term, 1772 the road was granted. Its route 
was nearly that of the present turnpike. Samuel Beightal 
bought the property now known as the ''Renfrew Mill" estate 
from John Penn the elder and John Penn the younger, pro- 
prietaries, in the year 1792. Jacob Burkholder owned the land 
that Greenwood now stands upon, about the same time. In 
the year 1810 David Eby built the merchant mill, saw mill and 
several dwelling houses, and called the place "Milton Mills." 
In 1824 a school house was built. In 1826 John and Benjamin 
Darby bought the mill property, dwelling houses, &c., from 
the Bank of Chambersburg. Shortl}- after the Darbys pur- 
chased they laid off lots fronting the pike and began to 
build houses. The "arcade" was built b}^ John Darby, Jacob 
Koontz and Miss Whitmore. They then applied for a post 
office, to be called "Milton Mills," but their application was 
denied, unless they would agree to change the name of the 
village. A family council was held, lots were cast, and the 
name of "Fayette\'ille" selected, in honor of General La Fay- 
ette. 

Findlayville, about a half mile west of Fayetteville, and 
now incorporated in it, was laid out by Colonel John Findlaj', 
of Chambersburg, about the year 1830. He sold a number of 
lots, and some buildings were put up, but the name never took. 
The places are now united under the one name — Fa3'etteville. 
There are five churches in the place — one Lutheran, one Cove- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 209 

uauter, one United Brethren, one Winebrennarian and one 
Presbyterian. There are also two hotels, one town hall, three 
dry goods stores, one grocery store and two drug stores and 
two schools, one of which is graded. The population is about 
six hundred. 

FuNKSTOWN (P. 0. name Mont Alto) is situated in Quincy 
township, on the road leading from Fa^'etteville to Quincy, 
five miles south of the former place. John Funk was the first 
settler, and built the first house in the town in the year 181 1. 
The town was called after him, though of late years an effort 
has been made to change the name to Alto Dale, but it does 
not take with the people of the neighborhood. There are 
three churches in the town, viz : One Reformed, one Metho- 
dist and one Brethren in Christ. The population of the vil- 
lage is about three hundred and sixt3--five. 

Germantoavn is a small village in Greene township, situate 
on the public road leading from Scotland to Fayetteville, 
about midway between the two places. It contains a popula- 
tion of about fifty persons. 

Greencastle (P. 0.) is situated in Antrim township, at the 
intersection of the Cumberland Yalle}'^ railroad and the Waynes- 
burg, Greencastle 'and Mercersburg turnpike road. The land 
on which the town stands was taken up on a warrant issued to 
Samuel Smith, September 7th, 1750. He conveyed to John 
Smith, 4th jSTovember, IT 61. John Smith conveyed to John 
Davison, 6th November, 1762^ and he sold to William Allison, 
25th April, 1763. A patent was issued to William Allison, 
26th July, 1766, and by his deed, dated 3d May, 1769, he con- 
veyed the tract (three hundred acres) to his son. Colonel John 
Allison, who laid out the town in 1782. He named it "Green- 
Castle," some think in honor of Major General Nathaniel 
Greene, of revolutionary fame ; but it is more likely that it was 
called after Green-Castle, a large fishing station, where there 
is a fort and harbor, in the county of Donegal, Province of 
Ulster, Ireland. 

Colonel Allison divided his town plot into two hundred and 
fifty-six lots, of equal size, and numbered them from one to 
two hundred and fifty-six, inclusive, and put the price of each 
lot at three pounds, or eight dollars. He then made a lottery, 
and every person who purchased a ticket was entitled to a lot 
U 



210 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

somewhere in the new town, and the drawing or lottery was 
hehl to determine Avhat lots the ticket-holders should get- 
There were no blanks. Every ticket was bound to draw a lot ; 
the only chance or uncertainty being whether it should be 
located on the public square or on a back street. Whatever 
number a ticket-holder drew he got the lot bearing the same 
number on the plot of the town, and received a deed therefor 
from Colonel Allison, subject to an annual quit rent of ten 
shillings specie. 

There are six churches in the town, viz : one Presbyterian j 
organized in 1737 or 1738, one Reformed, one Lutheran, one 
United Brethren, one Methodist Episcopal and one African 
Methodist. The edifices of the first three churches named 
are of the most commodious and tasteful character, whilst the 
others named are sufficient for all their wants. There is also 
a fine town hall in the place, for the holding of lectures, con- 
certs, &.C. The town was made a borough by an Act of As- 
sembl}^ passed March 25th, 1805, and has now a population of 
seventeen hundred. 

Greenvillage (P. 0.) is situated in Greene township, on 
the Harrisburg turnpike, five miles from Chambersburg. It 
was laid out by Samuel Nicholson in 1793. • He purchased of 
Reuben Gillespie fort3^-five acres of land at fifty dollars per 
acre, "at the intersection of the Chambersburg and Strasburg 
roads." This land, and others around, was located as early 
as 1748. Jonathan Hirst built the first house where the town 
now stands, on the north-east corner of the intersection of 
the present turnpike and the Scotland road. It stood until 
the year 1844. The "village" takes its name from the town- 
ship, which was called after General Nathaniel Greene, of 
the revolutionary army. There is one hotel, two churches 
and two stores, in the place, and the population numbers three 
hundred persons. 

Greenwood (P. O., Black's Gap) is situated in Greene 
township, on the Chambersburg and Gettysburg turnpike, 
eight miles east of Chambersburg, at the entrance of Black's 
Gap, in the South mountain. Settlements were made in the 
neighborhood at a very early day. The Black's Gap road was 
laid out in 1750, and was made by Robert Black, the great- 
grandfather of Robert Black, Esq., of Greenwood. Conrad 



HISTORICAL SKETCU OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 211 

Brown made the first improvement at this point about the 3'ear 
1814. 

Jackson Hall (P. 0.) is situated in Guilford township, on 
the road leading from Chambersburg to Mount Hope and 
Waynesboro, five miles distant from the former place. It was 
commenced by Jacob Snyder, in the year 1812. It is called 
after President Jackson, and contains one store and about 
twentj^-eight inhabitants. 

Lennhehville is situated on the Warm Spring road, in 
Hamilton township, just south of Cashtown, of which it may 
be considered as a part. It was started by and named after 
Henry Lennher, who resides and keeps a store there. 

Loudon (P. O.) is situated on the Chambersburg and Bed- 
ford turnpike, in Peters township, near the base of the Cove 
mountain, fourteen miles west of Chambersburg. It is a 
very old place, and was the scene of many a stirring incident in 
old Colonial times. It is mentioned in history as "Loudon 
town," as early as 1756. In that yea.r "Fort Loudon" was 
built by the Colonial government, for the protection of the 
frontier settlers against the incursions of the Indians. It stood 
about a mile south-east of the present town, and was frequently 
garrisoned by British and Provincial troops. Before the 
making of wagon roads over the mountains it was a great 
point of departure for pack-horse trains for Bedford, Fort 
Cumberland and Pittsburg. The present town was laid out 
by Johnston Elliott, in the j^ear 1804. For half a centmy, 
and particularly from the completion of the Pittsburg turn- 
pike, in the year 1819, it was a great place for the manufacture 
of wagons, wagon gears and whips ; but after the opening of 
the Pennsylvania railroad to the Ohio its business rapidly fell 
away. It now has one hotel, two graded schools and three 
churches, and a population of three hundred and fifty. The 
Southern Pennsylvania railroad passes by the town, and af- 
fords the citizens much greater facilities for all purposes than 
they formerly had. 

Mainsville (formerly Smoketown) is situated in South- 
ampton township, on the road leading from Shippensburg to 
the old Southampton iron works, and about two miles south 
of the former town. It was laid out by Wm. Mains, Esq., 



212 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FKAKKLIN COUNTY. 

iiboiit ten years ago, and contains a church, store and black- 
smith shop, and a population of about forty persons. 

Marion (P. 0.) is situated in Guilford township, on the 
^reat road from Chambersburg to Greencastle, six miles south 
of the former place. Settlements were made in the neighbor- 
hood as early as 1748, and a tavern was kept near the south 
end of the town long 3'cars ago. The village was commenced 
about the 3^ear 1810. It was first called Independence; but 
when a post office was established there, it was called 3Iarion^ 
x\o doubt after General Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox of 
the Carolinas," so dreaded by the British and Tories of the 
South in revolutionary days. The first store opened in the 
place was in the year 1822, b}^ Major Cook. The present 
population is one hundred and twenty-three. 

Marion Station is situated in Guilford township, on the 
Cumberland Yalley railroad, six miles south of Chambersburg 
and about half mile east of the town of Marion. A new vil- 
lage is springing up there. A warehouse now owned and 
■conducted by Diehl & Co., was built there in the year 1862, 
since wdiich seven or eight new and elegant dwellings have 
ibeen put up, a German lleformed church is also being built, 
and Andrew A. Statler, is building a large dwelling and store 
near the station, on land purchased from Jacob Myers, at the 
Tate of $900 per acre. A sale of lots has also recently been 
liad, and a number of dwelling houses are now under contract. 
It is a very desirable point for a private residence. 

Mason and Dixon (P. 0.) is situated on the Cumberland 
Talle}' railroad, in Antrim township, immediately at the State 
line, where the public road from Middleburg to Welsh Pun 
crosses the railroad. There are a warehouse, a store and sev- 
eral dwellings at this point. Population about thirty persons. 

JNIercersburg (P. 0.) is situated on the Waynesburg, Green- 
i-astle and Mercersburg turnpike, at the northern line of Mont- 
gomery township. Much the larger part of the town is in 
Montgomery township, and a small part of it is in Peters town- 
ship. It is a very old settlement. Locations were made in the 
neighborhood as early as 1730, and it is stated that a man named 
James Black, built a mill at or near where the town now stands, 
about the year 1730. His improvement was at first called 
''•Black's town." The settlers around were nearly all Scotch- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 213 

Irish, aud by the year 1738 a Presbyterian church was organ- 
ized under the name of "The West Conococheague Chnrch.'"" 
Subsequently William Smith bouglit out Mr. Blaclc ; the date 
of that purchase I have not been able to ascertain, but it was 
as earl}' as 1750. The property subsequently passed in-tothe 
hands of William Smith, Jr., a son of William Smith, by in- 
heritance from his father, and was known during the trouble- 
some times from 1750 to 1764 as "Squire Smith's town," the 
proprietor, William Smith, then being one of the Justices of 
the Peace for Cumberland county. An extensive trade was 
carried on with the Indians and first settlers on the western fron- 
tiers from this point during those years. It was nothing un- 
common to see from fifty to one hundred pack horses there at 
one time loaded with merchandise, salt, iron and other com- 
modities ready to be transported over the mountains to the- 
Monongahela country. As is usual in frontier settlements,, 
there were many unruly spirits to be found about the place, 
and on more than one occasion tliey became participants in 
riotous and illegal proceedings that led to trouble with the 
Colonial authorities, and with the British troops stationed at 
Fort Loudon. 

The town was laid out in 1780 by William Smith, Jr., the 
lots being subject to an annual quit rent often shillings. lie 
called it Mercersburg, in honor of General Hugh Mercer, of the 
revolutionary army, who fell mortally wounded at the battle of 
Princeton, January 3, 1777, and died a few days after \vards.. 
General Mercer was an eminent physician, and resided for a 
number of j^ears in the neighborhood of Davis' Fort, south o.f 
Mercersburg, near the Maryland line, where he practiced his- 
profession. 

Having enjoyed some military training and experience in 
Europe, and having a taste for military life, he was early in 
1756 appointed a captain in the Provincial service, in which 
he continued for some years, rising to the rank of colonel. 0ns 
the 13th of July, 1757, he was appointed and commissioned 
by the Supreme Executive Council, one of the Justices of the 
Peace for Cumberland county. He was intimately acquainted 
with General Washington, who had a high regard for him and 
upon the breaking out of the revolutionary war. Congress in 
177G, upon the recommendation of General Washington, who. 



214 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

had served with him in Forbes' campaign in 1758, appointed 
Dr. Mercer a brigadier in the army of the United States. 
Whilst the army was encamped near New Brunswick, New 
Jersey, General Mercer had shown great kindness to the father 
of Mr. Smith, or to Mr. William Smith himself, it is not known 
which, but in remberance of that kindness, Mr. Smith named 
his new town Mercersburg. 

The town now contains seven churches, viz : one Presbyte- 
rian, one United Presbyterian, (formerly Associated Presby- 
terian,) one Reformed, one Lutheran, one Methodist Episco- 
pal, one United Brethren and one Bethel. Mercersburg Col- 
lege, under the care of the Reformed church, is located there, 
the President of which is Rev. E. E. Higbee, D. D. There is 
i^ilso a Female Seminary there, under the cai'e of Rev. Jacob 
Ilassler. " The Farmers' Bank of Mercersburg" was estab- 
lished in 1874, Mr. George Steiger is its President, and Wil- 
liam M. Marshall, Esq., its Cashier. Fairview Cemetery was 
laid out in 1866. The population of the town at the present 
time is about twelve hundred. 

MiDDLEBURG (P. 0. State Line) is situatcd in Antrim town- 
ship immediately at the Maryland State Line, on the great 
road leading from Greencastle to Hagerstown, Maryland. It 
was laid out b}'- Jacob Strickler, about the year 1812, and takes 
its name from the fact of its location midwaj' between the 
towns named. The town is regularly laid out, and at present 
lias two churches, one Reformed and one United Brethren, two 
stores and a town hall in it. The population is about two 
hundred. 

The town was originally called " Spiglersburg." A man 
named Jack Wolgamot, built the first house in the place. He 
■WAS a reckless, rollicking fellow, and often had the constables 
after him, with a warrant for his arrest for the non-payment 
of his debts, contracted in Maryland and in Pennsylvania. 
For the i)urpose of escaping the officers of the law, he built 
his house, which is still standing, across the State line, as he 
thought, one-half in Maryland, and the other half in Pennsyl- 
vania, so that when an officer came all he had to do to put him 
at defiance was to slip across the line into the other State, 
take his seat and laugh at the baffled officer. He, however, 
made a mistake as to the true location of the State line, and 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 215 

built all of the house in the State of Maryland, except the 
chimney, which is in Pennsj'lvania. But as this error was not 
discovered for many years after the house was put up, his ruse 
served his purposes on man^- an occasion, when he did not 
wish to have the compau}- of those officers who had warrants 
against him. 

Mont Alto (P. 0.) See Funkstown. 

Mount Hope (P. O. name Five Forks) is a small village 
situated in Quincy township, on the road from Chambersburg 
to Waynesboro, four miles north-west of the latter place. 
There is a store, grist mill, and a blacksmith shop, and a popu- 
lation of about eighty persons in the place. 

Mowersville (P. O.) is a small village in Lurgan township, 
about three and a half miles east of Roxbury. It was started 
hy Joseph Mowers, Esq., fifteen or more years ago, and con- 
tains a store, blacksmith shop, carriage manufactory, &c., with 
a population of about forty persons. 

New Franklin is situated iu Gruilford township, on the road 
leading from Chambersburg to Waynesboro, four miles south- 
east of the former place. It was commenced by Balthazar 
Kountz, in 1'795, and John Himes, Sr., built the next house in 
1827. It now contains one store and seventy-seven inhabitants. 

New Guilford is situated in Guilford township, three miles 
east of New Franklin. It contains a population of about sixty 
persons. 

Orrstown (P. 0.) is situated in Southampton township, on 
the old State road from Shippensburg to Strasburg, five miles 
west of the former place. Settlements were made in that 
neighborhood as early as the year 1738, and for many 3^ears 
prior to the completion of the Penns3'lvania railroad, down 
to within a very few years past, a very large number of horses 
and cattle were annually passed along the State road from the 
great west to the markets of the east. The town, which is 
one of the most beautiful in the countj^, was laid out in 1833, 
by John and William Orr. The}'- called it at first Southamp- 
ton, after the township ; but in 1835, when application was 
made for a post office to be called Southampton, the Post 
Office Department refused the grant for the reason that there 
was already an office of that name. Hon. George Chambers, 
who was then in Congress, named the office " Orrstown^'''' and 



216 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

the name has since attached to the town. It was incorporated 
as a borough in the year 184t, and now contains one hotel^. 
two stores, one carriage factory, and four churches, viz : one 
Lutheran, one Presbyterian, one United Brethren, and one 
Winebrennarian. The population is three hundred and twenty- 
five. 

PiKESviLLE. See Rouzersville. 

Pleasant Hall is situated in Letterkenny township, on the 
old State road, about two and a half miles east of Strasburg. 
It was laid out by Joseph Burkhart about the year 1840. It 
contains one store, one wagon-maker's shop and a blacksmith 
shop, and several dwellings. The population is about thirty 
persons. 

QuiNCY (P. 0.) is situated in Quincy township, about four 
miles directly north of Waynesboro, on the road leading to 
Fayetteville. Many of the earlier settlers in this section of 
our county were Germans, as is shown by their family names. 
As it had been the policy and practice of the agents of the 
proprietaries, in the early years of the past century, to send 
the German emigrants into York count}', (which then included 
what is now Adams county,) it is very likely that many of 
those Germans came over the mountains from York county, 
and settled down in the eastern part of our county, instead of 
coming up through Lancaster county by way of Harris' Ferry 
(now Harrisburg,) as all the other early settlers of the Cum- 
berland Valley did. They made settlements in what is now 
Quinc}^ township as early as 1V31, and many of their descen- 
dants are to be found there yet. 

Richmond (P. 0., "Richmond Furnace") is situated in 
Metal township, at the termination of the Southern Penns}^- 
vania Railroad and Iron Company's railway, four miles north 
of Loudon. The locality was formerly better known as 
''Mount Pleasant Furnace," the oldest furnace in the count}^.. 
The fui-nace has been re-built by the present owners, and it 
and the village is now called "Richmond," after Richmond L.- 
Jones, who was president of the company at the time their 
railroad was built. There is a large warehouse, a store, a 
number of dwellings, and a population of about sixty persons 
in the place. 

Rouzersville (P. 0.) or Pikesville is a small village in. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 217 

Washington township, on the turnpike leading from Waynes- 
boro to Emmittsburg, Maryland, three miles east of Waynes- 
boro. It contains a church and store, and a population of 
about thirty persons. 

RoxBURY (P. 0.) is situated in Lurgan township, upon the 
banks of the Conodoguiuet creek, at the base of the Kitatinny 
mountains. It w^as commenced by William Leephar, about 
the 3^ear 1778. He built a grist mill about the j'ear 1783. 
"Sound-well Forge'' was built at Roxbury by Leephar, Crot- 
zer & Co., in 1798, and "Roxbury Furnace" by Samuel Cole, 
in the year 1815. The Hughes' ran these works at one time, 
and the last persons who carried them on were Messrs. Flem- 
ing & Sheffler, in 1857. In the old "pack-horse" times there 
was a considerable amount of business done at Roxbury. For 
many j^ears past, however, the town has not improved much. 
There are two churches in the place — the " IJnion church," 
built in 1815, and the "Methodist Protestant," built in 1873. 
Population about two hundred. 

St. Thomas (P. 0.) is situated in St. Thomas township, on 
the Chambersburg and Bedford turnpike, eight miles west of 
Chambersburg. Settlements were made in the neighborhood 
of where the town stands as early as 1737. Thomas Camp- 
bell laid out the town about the year 1790, and for many 3'ears 
afterwards it was known by the name of " Campbellstown," 
It is onl}', however, within the past thirty or thirty-five years 
that the toivn began to be generally called " St. Thomas." 
Within the recollection of the waiter it was frequently called 
by its old name — " Campbellstown." There are two hotels^ 
three stores and two groceries in the town. There are also 
four church edifices, occupied by five denominations, viz : One 
Reformed, one Methodist, one Brethren, and one used by the 
Presbyterians and Lutherans jointly. The population num- 
bers about four hundred. 

Scotland (P. 0.) is situated on the Conococheague creek, in 
Greene township, about five miles north-east of Chambersburg^ 
and a short distance south of Scotland station, on the Cum- 
berland Yalley railroad. It contains two churches, (one Cov- 
enanter and one United Brethren,) three stores, a grist and 
saw mill, a planing mill, and a population of about two hun- 
dred and twent3''-fiA'e persons. 



218 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

SiiADY Grove (P. 0.) is situated in Antrim township, on 
the Waynesbnrg, Greencastle and Mercersburg turnpike, two 
miles east of Greencastle. A warrant for the land on which 
it stands was granted to Thomas Minnock in 1752. The town 
was started b}' Melchi Snivel}', Esq., in 1848. There are now 
one store, twenty-four dwellings and one hundred and twenty 
inhabitants in the place. 

Shimpstown is a small village situated in Montgomery town- 
ship, three miles south of Mercersburg, on the road to Clay 
Lick. Population about fifty persons. 

Smoketown is a small village situated in Greene township, 
one and a-half miles south-east of Scotland. It contains a 
population of about seventy-five persons. 

Snow Hill, or Schneeberg, is situated on Antietam creek, 
in Quincy township, one mile south of Quincy. Since the de- 
cline of Ephrata, in Lancaster count}^, it is the principal insti- 
tution of the German Seventh-da}^ Baptists of the United 
States. The society have a farm of about one hundred and 
thirty acres, with a grist mill upon it. They have also a large 
brick building, for the brothers and sisters, two stories high 
and one hundred and twent}^ feet long. They have also a 
church in which worship is held weekly, ever}'^ Saturday. 
Their annual religious meetings are held here. Their whole 
property is worth about twenty-five thousand dollars. There 
are onl}^ about eight male and seven female members remain- 
ing upon the premises — all old people — and as there are no 
accessions to their numbers, the societ}' must soon become 
extinct. 

Spring Run (P. O.) is situated in Fannett township, on the 
main road through Path Yalley, six miles north of Fannetts- 
burg. There are two churches, one Presbyterian and one 
United Brethren, two stores, one tannery and several shops, 
and a population of about fift}^ persons. 

Springtown is a small village, chiefly of farm houses, situ- 
ated in Metal township, one mile north of Fannettsburg. A 
small fort or block-house stood here during the troublous times 
of 1750-1704, to which the settlers in the neighborhood fre- 
quentl}^ fled for refuge during the incursions of the hostile In- 
dians. Population about twent}- persons. 

Stoufperstown is situated in Guilford township, one and 



IirSTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 219 

one-fourth miles east of Chambersburg, on the Chanibersburg 
and Gettysburg turnpike. The oldest house in the place was 
built by Patrick Vance, about 1T73. Daniel Stouffer built the 
'' Falling Spring Mill." or " Stouffer's Mill," about 1T92, and 
the village has grown up around it during the last twenty-five 
or thirty years. The population is now about two hundred. 

Strasburg (P. O., Upper Strasburg.) is situated in Let- 
terkenny township, on the old State road leading from Ship- 
pensburg to Fannettsburg, near the base of the Kittochtinny 
mountains. It was laid out by Dewalt Keefer, in the fall of 
n89, and was called after the city of Straslmrg, in Germany. 
After the completion of the Three Mountain road it became 
quite a business place, and so long as transportation was done 
by the old-fashioned " Conestoga wagon," and horses and cattle 
were brought from the west to the east in droves, Strasburg, 
because of the absence of all tolls on the road, and because 
an abundant supply of feed was to be had at low rates, was 
able to hold its own, but all improvement was at an end. It 
has three churches — one used by the Lutheran and Pveformed 
congregations, one Methodist and one United Brethren, in 
which the Presbyterians worship at stated times. It has also 
one hotel, one steam tanner}-, one saw mill, two stores, two 
blacksmith, two shoemaker, two cabinetmaker, one tailor and 
one saddler shops, and two hundred and ninety-three inhabit- 
ants. 

ToMSTOWN is situated in Quincy township, at the base of the 
South mountain, one mile south-east of Quincy. It was 
started by a man named John Toms, sixty years ago or more. 
It contains one store, and twenty-five or thirty houses. Popu- 
lation about two hundred. 

Upton (P. 0.) is situated in Peters township, on the Green- 
castle and Mercersburg turnpike, four miles west of the for- 
mer place. The first improvement was made by Alexander 
White, where the hotel is now kept, in the year 1812. The 
town was commenced by George Cook, in the vear 1840, but 
the greater poi'tion of it has been built since 1860. The post 
office was established in 1836, and the name '-Jacksonville" 
was selected for it, but disapproved by the Post Office De- 
partment, as there was already an office of the same name. 
At the susrgestion of Miss Elizabeth Watson, of Greencastle, 



220 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

the name of "Upton'' was taken for the oflice, which has also 
attached to the village. There are one store and hotel and 
several shops in the place. Population about one hundred 
and eighty. 

Waterloo is a small village situated in Washington town- 
ship, near the turnpike leading from Waynesboro to Emmitts- 
burg, Maryland. It is a short distance south of Pikesville, or 
Rouzersville, of which it may be considered as forming a part. 

Waynesboro (P. 0.) is situated in Washington township, 
on the line of the turnpike road from M'Connellsburg to Bal- 
timore. It is one of the most beautiful and flourishing towns 
in our county. The land upon which the town stands Avas 
taken up by John Wallace, Sr., in 1149. A settlement gradu- 
ally grew np, in after years, at the point where the town now 
stands, and was called "Wallacetown." In the year 1797, 
John Wallace, Jr., formally laid out the present town, and 
called it "Waynesburg," in honor of General Anthony Wayne — 
"Mad Anthou}-" — of the revolutionary army. The price of 
lots on "Main street" was fixed at five pounds specie, and on 
the cross streets at six pounds, with an annual quit rent of 
one dollar on each of them. The land around Waynesboro is 
among the most fertile and A^aluable in our valley. On the 
21st December, 1818, the town was incorporated into a bor- 
ough, by the name of "Waynesboro." There are two hotels, 
two drug stores, four dry goods stores, four hardware stores, 
and eight churches in the town, viz : the Trinity Reformed, St. 
Paul's Reformed, Lutheran, Methodist Episcopal, Presbyte- 
rian, German Baptist or Dunker, Reformed Mennonite and 
Catholic. There are also a town hall, a Grangers' hall and an 
Odd Fellows' hall, and three large manufacturing establish- 
ments in the place, viz : "The Geiser Manufacturing Company," 
makers of grain threshers, reapers, mowers, &c. ; "Frick & Co.," 
steam engine and boiler works, and "George F. Lidy & Co.," 
lumber manufacturers. John Bell has also for years carried 
on a large pottery at this point. The population of the town 
is about fifteen hundred. 

Welsh Run (P. 0.) is situated in Montgomery township, 
on the road leading from Mercersburg to Hagerstown, Mary- 
land, six miles from the former place. David Davis, an emi- 
grant from Wales, purchased a large tract of land along the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OP FKANKLIX COUNTY. 221 

stream near hy^ between the j-ears iToG and 1740, and being 
joined by a number of others from his native Lmd, the settle- 
ment received the name of "Welsh Run," The village now 
contains one store, one tannery, one blacksmith shop, one 
wagon-maker shop, one pliysician's office and one hundred and 
fifty inhabitants. "Kennedj^ Academj^," (Rev. J. H. Fleming, 
principal,) is situated here, as is also the ''Robert Kenned}' 
Memorial Presbyterian church." 

Williamson (P. 0.) is situated in St. Thomas township, on 
the line of the Southern Pennsylvania railroad, five miles south- 
vrest of Marion. It was commenced about the year 1870, by 
Samuel Z. Ilawbaker, who then owned the land around, and 
who built the principal buildings in the place There is a store, 
a grist and saw mill, and about fifty inhabitants in the place. 

Willow Grove is situated in Guilford township, on the 
iSpring road, about three miles south-east of Chambersburg. 
It was started b}^ John Stoutfer about the 3-ear 1850 and con- 
tains one grist mill, one straw paper mill, and about one hun- 
dred and fifty inhabitants. 

LIEUTENANTS AND SUB-LIEUTENANTS OF MILITIA. 

In the olden time, as appears by the Colonial Records and 
Pennsylvania Archives, there existed an officer called the 
"Countjr Lieutenant," who figured prominently in all the mili- 
tary aftairs of the State. He was appointed by the Supreme 
Executive Council, and held his office at the pleasure of that 
body. The office was somewhat like that of a Brigade In- 
spector, but the powers of the incumbent were greatly larger 
than those of this latter named officer, and his duties much 
more diversified. By the act of 17th March, 1111, (now obso- 
lete,) it was provided that "the President in Council, or in his 
absence the Vice President, should appoint and commission 
one reputable freeholder in the city of Philadelpliia, and one 
in eacli county, to serve as lieutenants of the militia ; and also 
any numlier of persons, not exceeding two for said cit}', and 
in tlie several counties any number not exceeding the number 
of battalions, to serve as .s-;/6-lieutenants. who were severally 
to have such rank as the President or Tice President might 
confer upon them. In the absence of the County Lieutenant 



222 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY, 

any two of the suL-lioutcnants had power to perfoim all his 
duties." 

By the act of the 20th of March, 1780, now also obsolete 
they were each required to give bond with good securities, in 
the sum of twenty thousand pounds. They were to divide 
the several counties into militia districts, to contain not less 
than four hundred and forty, nor more than one thousand 
militia-men ; cause the said militia to be enrolled ; divide each 
district into eight parts, or companies ; fix the time for hold- 
ing elections for officers — one captain, one lieutenant and one 
ensign, for each company, and one lieutenant colonel and one 
major for each battalion of eight companies. They were re- 
quired to collect the militia fines, through the sub-lieutenants, 
who were to settle every three months, whilst the lieutenants 
were required to settle every six months, or forfeit the sum 
of ten thousand pounds. The fine of an officer for non-at- 
tendance at company exercise was the price of three days' 
labor, and the fine of non-commissioned officers and privates 
for such absence was the price of one and a-half days' labor. 
At battalion trainings the fine of a field officer for non-attend- 
ance was the price of eight days' labor, and other commisson- 
ed officers four days' labor, and privates two days' labor. All 
fines were collected under Avarrants from the County Lieuten- 
ant by sale of all the goods of tJie delinquent, or hy imprison- 
ment in jail for ten daj's for each fine. 

The county lieutenants bought the arms for the militia — 
had them marked with the name of the county, battalion and 
company, and appraised all private arms and horses that went 
into service — paid for those arms that were lost or horses that 
were killed. When the militia were called out into service 
they gave them notice of the time and place of assembling, 
held and heard appeals, and granted relief, forwarded the 
troops called out to their points of destination, providing in 
the meanwhile for their support. 

'V\\c county lieutenants were the representatives of tlie State 
government in military matters in the several counties, and 
had very arduous and important duties to perform in the 
troublous times of the revolution. To them the Supreme Ex- 
ecutive Council. issued their orders direct, and they enforced 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 223 

them through their subordinates — the sub-lieuteuauts — one of 
whom was attached to eacli battalion. 

The pay of the county lieutenants was the value of one and 
a half bushels of wheat per day, and the pay of the sub- 
lieutenants, the value of one and a quarter bushels of wheat 
per day, to be paid out of the militia fines collected. On the 
7th of April, 1785, Colonel Abraham Smith, of Antrim town- 
ship, was appointed lieutenant of our count}', and served until 
after his election as councillor, when he resigned on the 28th 
November, 1787. On the 1st December, 1787, Major Jeremiah 
Talbott was appointed lieutenant for this county, and served 
until the abolition of the office under the constitution of 1789- 
90. 

FAST FREIGHT LINE?. 

Before the opening of the Pennsylvania railroad to Pitts- 
burg, all freight passing from Philadelphia to Pittsburg during 
the time the canal was closed in the winter, was transported 
in wagons, consuming usuall}' about • eighteen days to a trip. 
The old wagoner was a very independent personage. He took 
things leisurel}' ; would only drive a certain number of miles 
per day, and always made it a point to stop over night at some 
"Wagon Tavern," where he would be sure to meet a number 
of his "fellow craftsmen" — choice spirits, when he and they 
would have a jolly night of it drinking "Old Monongahela," 
smoking their pipes, dancing, and recounting their past adven- 
tures on the road. These old wagoners and their teams were 
a necessity to the business public of that day, but their slow- 
ness was very provoking to the people expecting goods by 
them, and shippers cast about for some means to avoid this 
objection. 

Aocordingh^, about the 3'ear 1846, Mr. A. D. Caufman, of 
the firm of Oaks & Caufman, forwarding and commission men 
of Chambersburg, conceived the idea of establishing a fast 
freight line to carry goods between Philadelphia and Pitts- 
burg. Oaks & Caufman furnished the cars, and agreed to 
carry the goods between Philadelphia and Chambersburg, and 
certain parties living along the turnpike between Chambers- 
burg and Pittsburg furnished the wagons and horses. Thus 
the "Dispatch Fast Freight line" was established, the first of 



224 IIISTOIUCAL SKETCU OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

the kind ever known here. They contracted to deliver goods 
in five days between Philadelphia and Pittsburg, the time by 
the old wagons being about ten to fifteen daj^s. The company 
had fourteen wagon stations on the road between Chambers- 
burg and Pittsburg, fourteen miles apart, where the horses 
were changed. Each wagon had six horses to it, and ran night 
and day, carrying a load of 0,500 pounds. Three extra wagons 
and teams were kept stationed along the road to be on hand 
in case of an accident. So well was the line conducted that 
it never once missed making a connection ; and so profitable 
and necessar}' did it prove itself to be, that within a month or 
two after the starting of the " Dispatch Line," two other lines 
were placed upon the road. Upon the completion of the 
I'ennsylvania railroad, the enterprise was abandoned, 

JOHN brown's raid INTO VIRGINIA. 

The year 1859 has become celebrated in the annals of our 
country, because of the anti-slaveiy raid then made by John 
Brown and his followers into the ancient Commonwealth of 
Virginia against human slavery. The exciting, and oft-times 
bloody, struggles which took place in Kansas, between the ad- 
vocates of slavery, and the free-state men of the nation, whilst 
that region of country was being settled up, have become 
historical. John Brown was amongst the most active and 
ardent of the free-state men of Kansas, and owes his cog- 
nomen of "Ossawatomie Brown," to his participation in one of 
the fearful fights that took place there. So utterl}^ hostile 
was he to every thing that in any way gave sanction to human 
slavery, that he became disgusted even with the Constitution 
of the United States, and in the month of May, 1858, was one 
of a band of about fifty ultra anti-slavery men who assembled 
at Chatham, Canada West, and made a constitution of forty- 
eight articles, and a schedule "for the proscribed and oppressed 
people of the United States." That convention, on the 8th 
day of May, 1858, unanimously elected John Brown com- 
mander-in-chief of all the forces that might be called into the 
field under their constitution. At the same time J. H. Kagi 
was elected Secretary of War ; Richard Realf, Secretary of 
State ; George B. Gill, Secretar}' of the Treasurj' ; Owen 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 225 

Brown, Treasurer ; and Alfred M. Ellsworth and Osborne 
Anderson members of Congress. 

From that time forwai'd the energies of John Brown were 
devoted to the making of preparations for the destruction of 
slavery. Money was collected and men were enlisted, both in 
the east and the west. John Brown and two of his sons, 
Tinder the name of Smith, visited Virginia at various times 
between May, 1858, and June or July, 1859, and Harper's 
Ferry was finally selected as the point for commencing opera- 
tions. The money collected by Brown was devoted to the pur- 
chase of arms and munitions of war, and the payment of the 
travelling expenses of those "choice spirits" whom he had 
persuaded to join him in his enterprise, who were instructed 
to come to Chambersburg in twos and threes, and there quietly 
take boarding, so as not to attract attention to their move- 
ments. Of course all this was done silently and secretl}^, no 
person but Brown and his followers knowing who they were, 
where they came from, nor what was their purpose in coming 
to Chambersburg. 

I. Smith, alias John Brown,, was first seen at Chambersburg 
about June or Jvily, 1859. He was accompanied by one or 
two of his sons, Tiiey got boaixiing for awhile at one of our 
hotels, and afterwards in a private family in one of the back 
streets of the town, and professed to be engaged in prospecting 
for minerals in the mountains of Maryland and Virginia, 
skirting the Potomac river. Their absences were frequent — 
sometimes shorter, sometimes longer — and they never spoke 
of where they had been nor what they had been doing. In a 
short time, about July or August, 1859, a number of boxes 
were forwarded here tliroughthe commission house of Messrs. 
Oaks & Caufman, consigned to /. Smith & Sons. These boxes 
were most carefully secured, so that their contents could not 
be seen, being in many cases double boxes. They were repre- 
sented by the Smiths to contain picks and mattocks, and 
other tools for mining, and they were hauled away from the 
warehouse by persons employed by Smith, who were resident 
in sections of our county remote from Chambersburg. Smith 
(or Brown) himself came several times with a two-horse wagon 
and took away part of the goods consigned to him, and the 
purchases made here by him. 
15 



226 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

There was nothing whatever in the conduct of Smith, nor 
of any of those who were with him here, nor, indeed, in the 
character of the freight he was receiving, to induce Messrs, 
Oaks & Caufman, or any of their employees, to think that he 
and those with him were not what they professed to be, nor 
that their consignments were not what they said they were. 

It is now known that those boxes contained Sharpe's rifles 
and pistols, carbines, swords and pike heads, and ammunition 
suited to the fire-arms named ; but then all these things were 
most carefully concealed from the most prying and inquisitive 
eyes. 

The people of Chambersburg were greatly censured because 
they did not find out what these boxes really did contain, 
whilst they were passing through the warehouses here, and 
because they did not discover the objects and purposes of 
Brown in time to have prevented his useless and murderous' 
raid. But Brown told no one here what he had in view, and 
his consignments came as any other consignments did, and 
were delivered to him by the carriers without a suspicion in 
regard to them. Besides, Brown, whilst here, openly pur- 
chased mattocks and picks, and other articles such as he said 
were in his boxes, and such as he would have had need for had 
his business really been such as he stated it to be. His ever}'- 
act served to prevent suspicion, and to make those dealing 
with him believe that he was onl_y what he professed to be ; 
and when his mad elfort had failed, and the truth became, 
known as to ivho he was and ichat his purposes had been, none 
were more surprised than were the people of Chambersburg. 
Shortly after Brown appeared in the vicinity of Harper's 
Ferry, under his assumed name of I. Smith, he rented a small 
farm in Maryland, a few miles from the ferry. There he took 
the goods he received at Chambersburg, thus gradually col- 
lecting a considerable quantity of arms and ammunition, and 
a body of twenty-two men, of whom seventeen were white and 
five colored. The resolute and daring character of Brown 
was well calculated to make him a leader in such an enter- 
prise, and to inspire confidence in his followers. 

His first eff"ort was made Sunday evening, October IGth, 
1859. Befoi'e leaving his mountain retreat to commence ope- 
rations, he made an address to his followers, concluding thus : 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 227 

"And now, gentlemen, let me press one thing on your minds. 
You all know how dear life is to you, and how dear 3'our lives 
are to your friends ; and in remembering that, consider that 
the lives of others are as dear to them as you,rs are to you. 
Do not, therefore, take the life of any one if j-ou can possibly 
avoid it ; but if it is necessary to take life in order to save 
your own, then make sure work of it." 

To all of those taken prisoner by Brown, and who inquired 
as to the object of the proceedings, his answer was, "To/ree 
the slaves,''^ and to the question, by what authority he was 
acting, the repl}^ was made, "/>^ the authority of God Al- 
Tfiifjh.tyy 

The result of Brown's mad undertaking is well known. 
Within fortj'-eight hours of its commencement, it was crushed 
into nothingness by the troops of the general government, 
under Colonel Robert E. Lee, and those of the State of Vir- 
ginia, under Colonels Baylor, Shutt, and others. Of Brown's 
whole band of twenty-two men, ten whites and three negroes 
were killed — three whites, two of whom were severely wounded, 
and two negroes, were taken prisoners, and four escaped, two 
of whom, J. E. Cook, and Albert Hazlett, were subsequently 
captured. John E. Cook, who with two or three others had 
attempted to escape north, along the South mountain, was 
captured in Quincy township, in our county, and was confined 
in jail here for some time before his surrender to the authorities 
of Virginia, In his pocket book was found a commission in 
the following form : 

No. 4. Headquarters War Department, No. 4. 

Near Harper's Ferry, Maryland. 

Whereas, John E. Cook has been nominated a captain in 
the array established under the Provisional Government. 
Now^ Therefore^ in pursuance of the authority vested in us, 
we do hereb}^ appoint and commission said John E. Cook, 
captain. 
Given at the office of the Secretary of War, this day, October 

15, 1859. 
H. Kagi, John Brown, 

Secretary of War. Commander-in-Chief. 

Brown was convicted November 2d, 1859, and sentenced to 
be hung December 2d, 1859; Cook was convicted November 



228 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

lOtli, 1859, and sentenced to he hung December 16th, 1859, 
along with Edwin Coppee, wiiite, and Shields Green, and John 
Copeland, colored. Hazlett was captured at Carlisle and sur- 
rendered to the Virginia authorities, and suhsequentl}^ tried, 
convicted and hung. The other executions took place at the 
times api)ointed. AVhcn the Union armies captured Richmond 
they released from the penitentiary there, a colored man 
named Jerry Myers, who had been tried and convicted as an 
accomplice of Brown's, and sentenced to imprisonment for 
life. He denied that he had ever aught to do with Brown's 
movements. After his liberation he came to Chambersburg, 
where he lived until his death, several years ago. 

Looking back at tlie undertaking of John Brown, and all its 
surroundings and attendant circumstances, one cannot fail to 
be impressed with the belief that he was not in his right mind. 
No sane man would have attempted what he did with slich in- 
adequate preparations as he had made. Neither he, nor those 
actino- with him, could have reasonably hoped for success had 
they for a moment seriously considered the power of the State 
upon which they made their raid. 

John Browli, upon being asked why sentence should not be 
passed upon him, j^aid : ''I deny everything but what I have all 
along admitted, the design on my part to free the slaves. That 
was all I intended. I never did intend murder, or treason, or 
the destruction of property, or to excite or incite slaves to re- 
bellion, or to make insurrection. This court acknowledges, 
as I suppose, the validity of the Law of God. I see a book 
Mssed here wdiich I suppose to be the Bible, or, at least, the 
New Testament. That teaches me that 'all things whatsoever 
1 would that men should do unto me, I should do even so to 
them.' It teaches me further, to 'remember them that are in 
bonds as bound with them.' I endeavored to act up to that 
instruction. 1 am yet too young to understand that God is 
any respecter of persons. I believe that to interfere, as I have 
done w^as not wrong, but right. Novv, if it is deemed neces- 
sary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the 
ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood 
of my children, and with the blood of millions in this slave 
country, whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel and 
unjust enactments, I submit ; so let it be done." 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 229 

Of John Brown's braveiy, no testimony could be more em- 
phatic than that of liis opponents. Governor Wise, who saw 
him after his conviction, said : ''Tiiey are mistaken who tal^e 
him to be a madman. He is a bundle of the best nei'ves I evei- 
saw, cut, and thrust, and bleeding, and in bonds. He is a man 
of clear head, of courage and fortitude, and simple ingenious- 
ness. He is cool, collected and indomitable, and inspired me 
with great trust in his integrity as a man of truth. He is as 
brave and resolute a man as ever headed an insurrection. He 
has coolness, daring, persistency, stoic faith and patience, and 
a firmness of will and purpose unconquerable. He is the 
farthest possible remove from the ordinary ruffian, fanatic or 
madman." Colonel Washington, also, said that "Brown was 
the coolest man he ever saw in def^-ing death and danger. 
With one son dead by his side, and another shot through, he 
felt the pulse of his dying son with one hand, held his rifle 
with the other, and commanded his men with the utmost com- 
posure, encouraging them to l)e firm, and to sell their lives as 
dearly as possible." 

I have referred to this chapter in the history of our country, 
because in our county town of Chambersburg, unknown to our 
people, this great opponent of human slavery had established 
his base for the receipt of supplies for his undertaking ; here 
he lived for several months ; here his followers secretly and 
silently assembled ; here the office of his war department was 
established, and from hence went out his orders north, 
south, east and west, and from hence his chosen band of 
little over a score went off" upon that desperate, dare-devil 
enterprise, in which nearly all of them rendered up their lives 
to the furtherance of the cause they had so blindly espoused. 
Unaided b}-^ any others than those leagued with them, without 
the countenance of those surrounding them, and with no hope 
of assistance from the anti-slavery element of the country.like 
the gallant six hundred at Balaklava, they 

"Rushed into tlie jaws of death" — 
and went down into bloody graves, martyrs to a desperate and 
hopeless undertaking. 

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS. 

We have had four Constitutional Conventions in Pennsyl- 
vania during the past one hundred years. 



230 HISTROICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

The delegates to the first Convention were elected July 8th, 
1176, in pursuance of a resolve of the Provincial Conference 
of Pennsylvania, which met at Carpenter's Hall, Philadelphia, 
June 18, 1776. 

Among the members of that Confer-ence from Cumberland 
county, were James M'Lene, Colonel John Allison, John M'- 
Cla^', Dr. John Calhoun and John Creigh, all of whom, I be- 
lieve, were from the region of country now in our county. 

The Constitutional Convention met at Philadelphia, July 15, 
1776, and passed and adopted a constitution, which was signed 
September 28, 1776. There were eiglit delegates from Cum- 
berland count}^, only one of Avhom, James M'Lene, Esq., was, 
I believe, from our county. 

The second Constitutional Convention convened in Pliila- 
delphia, November 24, 1789, and framed a new constitution, 
which was subsequently adopted by the people of the State. 
The members from Franklin county were James M'Lene and 
George Matthews. 

The third Constitutional Convention met at Harrisburg, 
May 2, 1837. After several adjournments they reassembled at 
Philadelphia, November 28, 1837, and adjourned finall}^ Feb- 
ruary 22, 1838. The constitution, as amended, was adopted 
by the people at October election, 1838, by one thousand two 
hundred and thirteen mnjorit}'. 

This convention was composed of senatorial and represen- 
tative delegates. The senatorial district composed of Frank- 
lin, Cumberland and Adams counties was represented by James 
Dunlo}), of Franklin county, and Levi Merkle, of Cumberland 
county. 

The representative delegates from Franklin county were 
George Ciiambers, of Chambersburg, and Joseph Snivel}^, of 
Antrim. 

The fourth and last Constitutional Convention met in the 
hall of the House of Representatives, at Harrisburg, Novem- 
ber 12th, 1872, and on the 27th of the same month adjourned 
to meet in Philadelphia on the 7th of January', 1873. This 
convention was composed of one hundred and tliirty-three dele- 
gates — twenty-eight from the State at large, and one hundred 
and five from the senatorial districts. 

The Nineteenth senatorial district, composed of the counties 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OP FRANKLIN COUNTY. 231 

of CumberLand and Franklin, Avas represented by Samuel M. 
Wherry, of Cumberland, and J. M'Dowell Sharps and John 
Stewart, of Franklin. 

The new constitution was submitted to the voters of the 
Commonwealth at a special election held IGth December, 1873, 
and was adopted by a majority of one hundred and forty-four 
thousand three hundred and sixt^^two votes. 

CONGRESSMEN. 

Under the constitution of 1116, delegates to the Congress 
•of the United States were appointed by the General Assembly 
■of the State, to serve for one j^ear, and were liable to be super- 
seded at any time. One of our citizens was twice appointed, 
viz : 

James M'Lene, 3d March, 1719, to 13th November, 1119, to 
fill a vacanc}^ 

James M'Lene, 13th November, 1119, to 13th November, 
1180. 

Under the constitution of the United States, which went 
into force on the first Wednesday of March, 1189, members of 
Congress were required to be elected by the people. They 
were thereafter elected by a general ticket throughout the 
State. At the first election, held in October, 1189, there were 
eight members of Congress elected, the highest vote for the 
successful candidates being that of Frederick Augustus Muh- 
lenberg, of Montgomery county — eight thousand seven hun- 
di'ed and seven votes ; and the highest vote for the unsuccess- 
ful ticket lieing seven thousand and sixtj'-seven, for John Alli- 
son, of Franklin county. 

I am not suflieientlj^ well acquainted with the residences of 
the members of Congress elected between 1189 and 1802 to 
determine which ones, if any of them, were from our count}'. 

On the 2d of April, 1802, an act was passed dividing our 
State into eleven congressional districts. By that act the 
counties of Franklin and Bedford Avere made a district, to elect 
one member. Tlie following persons Avere elected, and served 
for the following years, A'iz : 

1803-1805, John Rea, of Franklin, - - Tlllth Congress. 
1805-1801, " ■ " - - IXth " 



232 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

1807-1809, John Ilea, of Franklin, - - Xth Congress. 
1809-1811, " " - - Xlth " 

1811-1813, William Tiper, of Bedford, - Xllth " 

ACT OF 20tH march, 1812 5tU DISTRICT CUMBERLAND, 

FRANKLIN AND ADAMS, TWO MEMBERS. 

1813-1815, Roliert Whitehill, Cumberland ; Dr. William Craw- 
ford, Adams ; John Rea, Franklin ;* Xlllth Con- 
gress. 

1815-1817, William Maclay, Franklin ; Andrew Boden, Cum- 
berland ; XIYtli Congress. 

1817-1819, William Maclay, Franklin ; Dr. William Crawford, 
Adams ; XYth Congress. 

1819-1821, David Fnllerton, Franklin ;t Andrew Boden, Cum- 
berland ; Thomas G. M'Culloh, Franklin ;t XVIth 
Congress. 

Perry county was created in March, 1820, and made part of 
the Fifth district, and so voted at the regular election in 1821, 
when Colonel John Findlay was first elected. 
1821-1823, James M'Sherry, Adams; James Duncan,J Cum- 
berland ; John Findla}',! Franklin ; XYIIth Con- 



* Robert Whitehill and Dr. William Crawford were elected for the 
Fifth district in 1812, but Mr. Whitehill died April 7th, 1813, soon after 
his return home, vipon the adjournment of the Xllth Con2;re.ss, of 
whicli he had been a member from another district, of whicli Camber- 
land formed a part ; and at a special election held on the llth May, 
1813, John Rea was chosen to fill the vacancy, by a majority of five^ 
hundred and twenty-three over Edward Crawford, of Franklin. He 
took his seat in the extra session of Congress, which met in May, 1813. 

t David Fnllerton resigned after the close of his first session in Con- 
gress, because his constituents disapproved of his votes upon the Mis- 
souri Compromise, and upon some other questions. On the 9th of Oc- 
tober, 1820, Thomas G. M'Culloh was elected to fill the vacancy. He 
took his seat 13th November, 1820, and served until the 3d of March, 
1821. 

J At the regular election in 1820, James M'Sherry, of Adams, and 
James Duncan, of Cumberland, were elected ; but before the meeting 
of the XVlIth Congress Mr. Duncan resigned, and at the regular elec- 
tion in 1821 John Findlay, of Franklin, was cbosen his successor over 
Thomas G. M'Culloh. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 233 

ACT OF 2d APRIL, 1822 — IItH district — ADAMS, FRANKLIN, 
CUMBERLAND AND PERRY, TWO MEMBERS. 

1823-1826, John Findlay, Franklin; James Wilson, Adams; 
XVIIIth Congress. 

1825-1827, John Findlay, Franklin; James Wilson, Adams; 
XlXth Congress. 

1821-1829, James Wilson, Adams ; William Ramsa}', Cumber- 
land ; XXth Congress. 

1829-1831, Thomas H. Crawford, Franklin ; William Ramsay^ 
Cumberland ; XXIst Congress. 

1831-1833, Thomas H. Crawford, Franklin ; ^V^illiam Ramsay^ 
Cumberland ; XXIId Congress. 

ACT OF 9tII JUNE, 1832 — 12Tn DISTRICT — ADAMS AND FRANK- 
LIN, ONE MEMBER. 

1833-1835, George Chambers, Franklin, XXIIId Congress. 

1835-1837, " " " - XXIYth " 

1837-1839, Daniel Sheffer, Adams, - XXVth " 

1839-1841, James Cooper, " - - XXVIth " 

1841-1843, " '' " - - XXVIIth " 

ACT OF 25tii march, 1843 — 16th district — franklin, Cum- 
berland AND PERRY. 

1843-1845, James Black, Perry, - - XXVIIIth Congress. 
1845-1847, " ^" " - - XXIXth " 

1847-1849, Jasper E. Brady, Franklin, XXXth " 

1849-1851, Jas. X. M'Lanahan, Franklin, XXXIst " 

1851-1853, " '' " XXXIId " 

ACT OF 1st may, 1852 — 17tH district — ADAMS, FRANKLINy 
FULTON, BEDFORD AND JUNIATA. 

1853-1855, Samuel L. Russell, Bedford, XXXIIId Congress- 
1855-1857, David F. Robison, Franklin, XXXIYth " 
1857-1859, Wilson Reilly, Franklin, - XXXYth " 

1859-1861, Edward M'Pherson, Adams, XXXVIth " 
1861-1863, " " " XXXVIIth " 



234 HISTORICAL sketch of franklin county. 

ACT OF lOxn APRIL, 1802 — IGtII district — ADAMS, FRANKLIN, 
FULTON, BEDFORD AND SOMERSET, 

1863-18C5, A. II. Coffroth, Somerset, XXXYIIIth Congress. 

1865-1867, I ;V^\^°«^'^'^''* ^' l-XXXIXth 
(Wm. 11. Koontz, '' ) 

1867-1869, " " '^ ' XLth " 

1869-1871, John Cessna, Bedford, XLIst " 

1871-1873, Benj. F. Meyers, Bedford, XLIId " 

1873-1875, John Cessna, " XLIIId " 

act of 28th APRIL, 1873 — 18th district — franklin, fulton, 

JUNIATA, HUNTINGDON, SNYDER AND PERRY. 

1875-1877, William S. Stenger, Franklin, XLIYtli Congress. 

1877-1879 " " " XLYth " 

LEGISLATORS. 

SUPREME EXECUTIVE COUNCIL — SENATE. 

Under the constitution of 1776, which was in force when the 
county of Franklin was organized, there was no State Senate. 
The State was governed by an Assembly of the Representatives 
of the freemen of the State, and by a President and Council. 
Councillors were elected for three years. The following per- 
sons served as Councillors for this count}-, viz : 

James M'Lene, from 1784 to 1787 

Abraham Smith, -.--.'' 1787 to 1790 

Under the constitution of 1790, the Supreme Executive 
Council was al)olished, and it was provided that the govern- 
ment of the State should be carried on by a Governor, and a 
Senate and House of Representatives, all of whom were to be 
elected bj- the people, the Governor to hold office for three 
years. Senators for four years, and Representatives for one 
year. The following are the senatorial districts in which 
Franklin county has been since 1790, and the names of the 
various persons who have represented this district in the Sen- 
ate, with their terms of service : 

* At the opening of the first session of the XXXIXth Congress, Mr. 
Coffroth was awarded a seat on a 2^'>'ima-/acie case, and served during 
most of the session, but Mr. Koontz obtained the seat on a contest, and 
was sworn in July 18th, 1866. 



HISTORICAL, SKETCH OF FRANKLIN' COUNTY. 235 

DISTRICT FRANKLIN AND BEDFORD. 

Abraham Smith, of Franklin, from P|ec., 1790, to Dec, 1794 
Thomas Johnston, " " 1794, to " 1803 

James Poe, " '^ 1803, to '' 1807 

Archibald Rankin, " '' 1807, to " 1811 

By the act of 21st March, 1808, Franklin count}^ was made 
a senatorial district, and given one S-nator. 
James Poe, - - - from Dec, 1811, to Dec, 1819 

Robert Smith, - - - " '• 1819, to " 1823 
John Rea, (resigned), - '• " 1823, to " 1824 

James Dunlop, - - - " '^ 1824, to " 1827 
David Fullerton, - - '^ ^' 1827, to " 1839 

By the act of 16th June, 1836, Franklin, Cumberland and 
Adams were made a senatorial district to elect two Senators. 
The persons who served under this act in this district, were — 
Charles B. Penrose, of Cumberland, from December, 1837, to 

December 1841. 
Jacob Cassatt, of Adams, from December, 1837, to December 

25, 1838.* 
Thomas C. Miller, of Adams, from January 13, 1839, to De- 

cember, 1841. 

Under the Constitution of 1838, the senatorial term was 
reduced to three years. The Senators were — 
William R. Gorgas, of Cumberland, for 1842, 1843 and 1844 
James X. M'Lanahan, of Franklin, - " " " " " 

By the act of 14th April, 1843, Franklin and Adams were 
made a senatorial district, to elect one member. The Senators 
were — 

Thomas Carson, of Franklin, - - 1845, 1846, 1847 

William R. Sadler, of Adams, - - - 1848, 1849, 1850 
Thomas Carson, of Franklin, - - 1851, 1852, 1853 

David Mellinger, of Adams, - - - 1854, 1855, 1856 
Oeorge W. Brewer, of Franklin, - - - 1857, 1858, 1859 

By the act of 20th May, 1857, Adams, Franklin and Fulton 
were made a senatorial district, and given one Senator. The 
Senators were — 

*Mr. Cassatt died at Harrisburg during bis second session in the 
Senate, on tlie 25tli of December, 1838, and General Tlionias C. Miller, 
of Adams county, was elected to fill tlie vacancy-. He subsequently 
removed to Cumberland county, and died there a few years ago. 



236 HISTORICAL SKETCH OP Franklin county. 

A. K. M'Clure, of Franklin, - - - 1860, 1861, 1862 
William M'Sherry, of Adams, - - 1863, 1864, 1865 

David M'Conaughy, of Adams, - - 1866, 186Y, 1868 

Calvin M. Duncan, of Franklin, - - 1869, 18^0, 1871 

By the act of 6th May, 1811, Cumberland and Franklin 
were made a senatorial district, to elect one member. Under 
it James M. Weakley, of Cumberland, served in 18T2, 1873 
and 1874. 

By the Constitution of 1873, the senatorial term was again 
made yo»7' years. 

By the act of May 19th, 1874, Franklin and Huntingdon 
were made a senatorial district to elect one member. Under 
it the Senator elected in this district in 1874, was to serve but 
two years. 

Chambers M'Kibbin, of Franklin, served in 1875 and 1876 ; 
HoratioG.Fisher, of Huntingdon, was elected November, 1876, 
for four years. 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

Names of persons who have represented the county of 
T'ranklin in the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania : 
1784-1785, James Johnston, Abraham Smith, James M'Cam- 

mont. 
1785-1786, James M'Cammont, Abraham Smith, John Ilea. 
1786-1787, Abraham Smith, James M'Cammont. 
1787-1788, James M'Lene, James M'Cammont. 
1788-1789, James M'Lene, James Johnston. 
1789-1790, James Johnston, John Rea. 
1790-1791, James Johnston, James M'Lene. 
1791-1892, James Johnston, John Maclay. 
1792-1793, James Johnston, John Rea. 
1793-1794, James M'Lene, John Maclay. 
1794-1795, William Henderson, James Poe, Daniel Royer. 
1795-1796, William Henderson, James Poe, Daniel Royer. 
1796-1797, James Poe, AYilliam Henderson, John Rea. 
1797-1798, William Henderson, John Rea, William Findlay. 
1798-1799, John Scott, Andrew Dunlop, John Spear. 
1799-1800, Daniel Royer, John Scott, Andrew Dunlop. 
1800-1801, John Rea,' James Poe, John Statler. 
1801-1802. John Rea, James Poe, John Statler. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OP FRANKLIN COUNTY. 237 

1802-1803, Kobert Peebles, James Poe, John Statler. 

1803-1804, William Findlay, Robert Peebles, Jacob Dechert. 

1804-1805, William Findlay, Jacob Dechert, James M'Comiell. 

1805-1806, William Findlay, Jacob Dechert, James M'Connell. 

1806-1807, WilliamFindlay, William M'Clelland,GeorgeNigli. 

1807-1808, William Maclay, Robert Smith, Jacob Heyser. 

1808-1809, William Maclay, Robert Smith, Jacob Heyser. 

1809-1810, Jacob Dechert, James Smith, Archibald Bard. 

1810-1811, Jacob Dechert, James Jmith, Archibald Bard. 

1811-1812, Robert Smith, James Smith, Jacob Dechert. 

1812-1813, Robert Smith, David Maclay, Jacob Dechert. 

1813-1814, Robert Smith, David Maclay, Jacob Dechert. 

1814-1815, Jacob Heyser, Patrick Campbell, John Cox. 

1815-1816, Robert Smith, Jacob Dechert, David Maclay. 

1816-1817, Andrew Robeson, Stephen Wilson, Ludwig Heck. 

1817-1818, Andrew Robeson, Stephen Wilson, Lndwig Heck. 

1818-1819, Andrew Robeson, Stephen Wilson, Ludwig Heck. 

1819-1820, Andrew Robeson, William Alexander, Ludwio- 
Heck. 

1820-1821, Samuel Dunn, John Stoner, Robert Crooks. 

1821-1822, John Holliday, Peter S. Dechert, John Flanagan. 

1822-1823, John King, John Holliday, Peter S. Dechert. 

1823-1824, Frederick Smith, Robert Smith, William Maclay. 

1824-1825, Frederick Smith, James Walker, William Alex- 
ander. 

1825-1826, Frederick Smith, James Walker, William Alex-.' 
ander. 

1826-1827, Frederick Smith, James Walker, Peter Aughin- 
baugh. 

1827-1823, Philip Berlin, Andrew Robeson, Benjamin Rey- 
nolds. 

1828-1829, Ludwig Heck, William Boal, John Cox. 

1829-1830, Frederick Smith, John Cox. 

1830-1831, Frederick Smith, John Cox. 

1831-1832, James Diinlop, Thomas G. M'Cnlloh. 

1832-1833, Thomas Bard, Thomas G. M'Cullob. 

1833-1834, Thomas H. Crawford, William S. M'Dowell. 

1834-1835, Thomas G. M'Cullob, Thomas Carson. 

1835-1836, Thomas Carson, John D. Work. 

1836-1837, John D. Work, John Flanagan. 



238 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

183Y-1838, James Colhoun, Ilonry Funk, 
1838-1839, William M'Kinstry, Frederick Smith. 

1840, William M'Kinstry James Nill. 

1841, Andrew Snively, Joseph Pomeroy. 

1842, Andrew Snively, Peter Cook. 

1843, Jacob Walter, Thomas Carson. 

1844, Jasper E. Brad}', Thomas Carson. 

1845, Jasper E. Brady, Andrew -Snively. 

1846, John Stewart, John M. Pomeroy. 

1847, Thompson M'Allister, John M. Pomeroy. 

1848, William Baker, Samuel Seibert. 

1849, William Baker, Samuel Seibert. 

1850, William Baker, John M'Lean. 

1851, David Maclay, John M'Lean. 

1852, David Macla}', George A. Madeira. 

1853, John Rowe, Charles T. Campbell. 

1854, John Howe, Samuel Gilmore. 

1855, James B. Orr, James Lowe. 

1856, James B. Orr, James C. Boyd. 

1857, George Jacobs, John Witherow. 

By act of 20th May, 1857, Franklin and Fulton Avere made 
a district and given two members. 

1858, A. K. M'Clure, James Nill. 

1859, A. K. M'Clure, James Nill. 

1860, James R. Brewster ; James C. Austin, of Fulton. 

1861, James R. ]3rewster; James C. Austin, " 

1862, John Rowe ; William W. Sellers, " 

1863, Jonathan Jacoby ; William Ilorton, " 
1804, J. M'Dowell Sharpe ; William Ilorton, " 

By act of 5th May, 1864, Franklin and Perry were made a 
district and given two members. 

1865, A. K. M'Clure, J. M'Dowell Sharpe. 

1866, F. S Stumbaugh ; G. A.-Shuman, of Perr^-. 

1867, F. S. Stumbaugh ; G. A. Shuman, " 

1868, B. F. Winger f John Shively, " 

1869, John H. Walker; John Shively, " 

1870, Geo. W. Skinner; D. B. Milliken, " 

1871, Geo. W. Skinner ; D. B. Milliken, " 

By act of 0th May, 1871, Franklin was made a district and 
given one member. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 239 

1872, Thaddeus M. Mahon. 
18Y3, Thaddeus M. Mahon. 

1874, George W. Welsh. 

By act of 19tli Maj', 1874, Frauklin was given three members^ 

1875, Hastings Gehr, M. A. Embich, Simon Lechrou. 

1876, Hastings Gehr, M. A. Embich, Simon Lechron. 
1877-1878, Hastings Gehr, H. C. Greenawalt, William A. Bur- 
gess. 

JUDICIARY. 

LIST OF OUR JUDGES SINCE 1790. 
4th district FRANKLIN, BEDFORD, HUNTINGDON AND MIFFLIN- 

President Judge^ — Tlioraas Smith, from 20th August, 1791, 
to 31st Januar^y, 1794. 

Associates — James M'Dowell, First Associate, 17th August,, 
1791 ; James Maxwell, Second Associate, 17th August, 1791 ; 
George Matthews, Third Associate, 17th August, 1791 ; James 
M'Cammont, Fourth Associate, 17th August, 1791. 

4th DISTRICT 1794 CUMBERLAND, FRANKLIN, BEDFORD, HUN- 
TINGDON AND MIFFLIN. 

President Judge — James Riddle, of Chambersburg, from 4th 
February, 1794, to latter part of 1804. 

Associates — James M'Dowell, George Matthews, James M'- 
Cammont, James Chambers, from November 12, 1795, until his 
death, April 25th, 1805. 

9tH DISTRICT — 180G — ADAMS, CUMBERLAND AND FRANKLIN. 

President Judge — James Hamilton, of Carlisle, from 1st 
March, 1806, to 13th March, 1819. 

Associates — James M'Cammont, till his death, in 1809; 
James Maxwell, James M'Dowell ; William M'Clay, Septem- 
ber 2d, 1809; Archibald Bard, April 2d, 1811; Isaac Eaton, 
January 9tli, 1815. 

9th DISTRICT — 1819 — ADAMS, CUMBERLAND AND FRANKLIN. 

President Judge — Charles Smith, of Carlisle, from March. 
27th, 1819, to April 27th, 1820. 

Associates — Archibald Bard, Isaac Eaton. 



240 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

5)tii district — 1820 — Cumberland, franklin, adams and 

TERRY. 

President Judge — John Reed, of Carlisle, from lOtli July, 
1820, till 29tla March, 1824. 

Associates — Archibald Bard, Isaac Eaton ; Jacob Oyster, 
August 23d, 1823. 

IGth district — 1824 — franklin, Bedford and somerset. 

FORMED 29tII MARCH, 1824. 

President Judge — John Tod, of Bedford, appointed June 
Sth, 1824 ; served till 25th May, 1827, when he was appointed 
a Justice of the Supreme Court. 

Associates — Arcliibald Baird, Jacob Oyster. 

16th district — 182t — franklin, Bedford and somerset. 

President Judge — Alexander Thompson, of Bedford, from 
25th June, 1827, till 1842. 

Associates — Archibald Bard, Jacob 03'ster, Matthew Patton, 
from October 9th, 1830; William M'Kesson, from November 
7th, 1832; Robert Smith, from December 12th, 1836. 

By the Constitution of 1838, the terras of the Judges then 
in commission were all shortened and terminated ; and there- 
after the President Judges were nominated by the Governor, 
with the consent of the Senate, to hold for ten years, and As- 
sociate Judges to hold iov five years. 

• 16Tn DISTRICT 1842 — franklin, BEDFORD AND SOMERSET. 

President Judge — Jeremiah S. Black, of Somerset, from 30th 
June, 1841, to 1st Monday in December, 1851. 

Associates — Robert Smith, James J. Kenned}', March 5th, 
1842 ; Samnel Dun, March 5th, 1843 ; Henry Ruby, March 5th, 
1847 ; John Orr, March 9th 1848. 

By the amendment to the Constitution of 1850, the Judges 
were all made elective. 

I6TII DISTRICT 1852 — FRANKLIN, FULTON, BEDFORD AND 

SOMERSET. 

President Judge — Francis M. Kimmell, of Somerset, from, 
first Monday in December, 1851. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 241 

Associates — James L. Black, first Monday in December, 1851; 
Thomas Pomeroy, first Monday in December, 1851 ; John 
Huber. first Monday in December, 1856 ; James O. Carson, 
first Monday in December, 1856 ; John Orr, first Monday in 
December, 185u 

16Tn DISTRICT — 1862 — franklin, FULTON, BEDFORD AND 

SOMERSET, 

President Judge — James Xill, of Chambersburg, from first 
Monday in December, 1861, till his death. May 2Hh, 1864. 

Associates — John Orr, James 0. Carson, first Monday in 
December, 1861 ; W. W. Paxton, first Monday in December, 
1862. 

16Tn DISTRICT — 1864 — franklin, FULTON, BEDFORD AND 

SOMERSET. 

President Judge — Alexander King, of Bedford, from 4th 
June, 1864, till his death, January 10th, 1871.* 

Associates — James 0. Carson, W. W. Paxton, James Fer- 
guson, from first Monday in December, 1866 ; JohnArmstrong, 
from first Monda}' in December, 186t. 

Additional Law Judge — D. YT. Rowe, from 18th March, 
1868.t 

16th district — 1871 — franklin, fulton, Bedford and 

somerset. 

President Judge — William M. Hall, of Bedford, from Febru- 
ary 1st, isn, till mh April, 18t4.| 

* Judge King was appointed June 4th, 1864, to fill the vacanc^^ caused 
bj' the death of Judge Nill. He was elected President Judge, October, 
1864, and was commissioned December 3d, 1864, for ten years. 

t Judge Rowe was appointed Additional Law Judge, 18th March, 
1868. He was elected to the same position in October, 1868, for ten 
years from first Monday in December, 1868. Under the Constitution 
of 1873, Franklin county became a separate judicial district, to which 
Fulton county has been attached, and on the 17th April, 1874, Hon. D. 
Watson Rowe, was commissioned President Judge of the thirty-ninth 
district, to hold for the balance of the term for which he had been 
elected Additional Law Judge, viz : till the first Monday of December, 
1878. 

% Appointed 1st of February, 1871, to fill vacancy caused by death of 
Judge King ; nominated and elected October, 1871, for full term of ten 
years, The district having been divided, Bedford and Somerset coun- 
ties were continued as the Sixteenth district, and Judge Hall continues 
to preside there. 
16 



242 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Additional Law Judge — D. W. Rowe. 

Associates — James Ferguson, Joliu Armstrong, James D.. 
M'Dowell, from first Monday in December, 18T1 ; David Oaks, 
from the first Monday in December, 18*72, 

o9th district — 1874 — franklin and fulton. 

President Judge — D. W. Rowe, of Greencastle, from nth 
April, 1874. 

Associates — James D. M'Dowell, David Oaks, till his death, 
December 2d, 1874. 

The county of Franklin having the requisite number of in- 
habitants to make it a " Separate " Judicial district, (viz : 
40,000,) has had no Associate Judge since the expiration of 
the Commission of Judge James D. M'Dowell, on the first 
Monday of December, 1876. 

COUNTY OFFICERS. 
PROTHONOT ARIES. 

Wlien Appointed. 
Edward Crawford, Jr., - - - September 10th, 1784 
Edward Crawford, - - - - August 17th, 1791 
Edward Crawford, - - - Januaiy 8th, 1800 

Edwai'd Crawford, continued by proclamation, 1803 

Edward Crawford, continued by proclamation, 1805 

John Findlay, .... January 27th, 1809 

John Findlaj^, April 1st, 1818 

John Shryock, .... February 8th, 1821 

John Hershberger, . . . _ January 14th, 1824 
John Hershberger, ... - December oOth, 1826 

John Flanagan, January 28th, 1830 

John Flanagan, .... December 24th, 1832 
Joseph Minnich, .... January 18th, 1836 

Recommissioned, .... January 2d, 1839 

Mathias Nead, January 29th, 1839 

Mathias Nead, .... November 14th, 1839 

ELECTED HEREAFTER. 

Mathias Nead, ... - November 12th, 1842 

Thomas P. Bard, .... November 17th, 1845 

James Wright, .... November 25th, 1848 

Isaac H. M'Cauley, - - - . November 22d, 1851 



UISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 243 

WJie/i Appointed. 
Abraham K. Weir, - - - - November 14th, 1854 
Hiram C. Kejser, .... December 1st, 1851 
Abraham D. Caufman, -/ - - December 1st, 1800 
K. S. Taylor, ----- December 1st, 1863 
William H. M'Dowell, - - - December 1st, 18G6 
George W. Welsh, .... December 1st, 1869 
John A. Hyssong, .... December 1st, 1812 
Jolm A. Hyssong, - - 1st Monday of Jauuar}-, 18T6 

REGISTERS AND RECORDERS. 

Edward Crawford, Jr., - - - September 1 0th, 1784 
Edward Crawford, Jr., . - - September 4th, 1790 
Edward Crawford, continued, - - December 13th, 1790 
Edward Crawford, .... January 8th, 1800 
Edward Crawford, continued b}^ proclamation, 1802 

Edward Crawford, continued by proclamation, 1805 

John Findlay, January 27th, 1809 

Peter Spyker Dechert, - - - April 1st, 1818 

Joseph Call>ertson, - . . - February 8th, 1821 

REGISTER AND RECORDER AND CLERK OF ORPHANS' COURT. 

John Findlay, Jr., .... Janviary 14th, 1824 
John Findlay, Jr., .... December 30th, 1826 

REGISTERS AND RECORDERS. 

Paul I. Hetich, .... January 28th, 1830 

Paul I Hetich, December 24th, 1832 

Joseph Pritts, - - . . January 18th, 1836 

Recommissioned, .... Januar^^ 2d, 1839 

Henry Ruby, .... - January 29th, 1839 

Henry Rub}-, November 14th, 1839 

KLECTED HEREAFTER. 

John W. Reges, .... November 12th, 1842 

James Watson, November 17th, 1845 

iienjamin Mentzer, .... November 25th, 1848 

David Oaks, November 22d, 1851 

George H. Merklein, . - - .November 14th, 1854 

George W. Toms, .... December 1st, 1857 

Edward C. Boyd, - - - - December 1st, 1860 

Henry Striekler, .... December 1st, 1863 



244 IIISTOllICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

When Apxjointed. 
Henry Strickler, . . . . December 1st, 1866 
Hiram T. Snyder, . . . . December 1st, 1869 
Adoli)lius A. Skinner, - - - December 1st, 18t2 
Adolpiius A. Skinner, - 1st Monday of January, 1876 

CLERK OF THE COURT OF QUARTER SESSIONS, OYER AND TERMINER 
AND orphans' court. 

Edward Crawford, Jr., - - - September 10th, 1784 

Edward Crawford, Jr., - - - August 17th, 1791 

Edward Crawford, - - - - January 8tli, 1800 

Edward Crawford, continued by proclamation, 1802 

Edward Crawford, continued by proclamation, 1805 

« John Findlay, January 27th, 1809 

\ John Findlay, . . . . April 1st, 1818 

John Shr3^ock, Februarj^ 8th, 1821 

CLERK OF QUARTER SESSIONS AND OYER AND TERMINER. 

John Hershberger, . - . . January 14th, 1824 
Jo'in Ilershberger, ... December 30th, 1826 

CLERK OF QUARTER SESSIONS, OYER AND TERMINER AND ORPHANS' 

COURT. 

Richard Morrow, . . . , January 28th, 1830 

Kichard Morrow, - - . - December 24th, 1832 

Joseph Morrow, .... January 18th, 1836 

Recommissioned, .... January 2d, 1839 

Jolm Wood, January 29th, 1839 

Jolm Wood, November 14th, 1839 

ELECTED HEREAFTER. 

John Wood, November 12th, 1842 

John M. Fisher, .... November 17th, 1845 

Josiah W. Fletclier, .... November 25th, 1848 

Henry S. Stoner, .... November 22d, 1851 

Henry S. Stoner, .... November 14th, 1854 

B. Y. Hamsher, .... December 1st, 1857 

William G. Mitchell, - - - December 1st, 1860 

AVilliam G. Mitchell, - - - December 1st, 1863 

Thaddeus M. Mahon, - - - December 1st, 1866 

Bernard A. Cormany, - - - December 1st, 1869 

Lewis W. Detrich, .... December 1st, 1872 
AY. Rush Gillan, - - 1st Monday of January, 1876 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



245 



Jeremiah Talbot, October 

Jeremiah Talbot, " 

Jeremiah Talbot, " 

John Johnston, " 

John Johnston, November 8th, 1788, 



SHERIFFS. 

Whe7i Appointed. 
20th, 1784, for one year. 
26th, 1785, " " 

23cl, 178G, " " 

23d, 1787, " " 



John Johnston, 
Henry Work, 
Robert Shannon, 
George Hetich, 
John Hetich, 
John Brotherton, 
Jacob Snider, 
Jacob Merkle, 
iWilliam Alexander, 
\i Thomas Alexander, 
Jeremiah Snider, 
John M'Clay, 
David "Washabaugh, 
Archibald Fleming, 
Joseph Culbertson, 
David Washabaugh, 
Ennion Elliott, 
James Burns, 
George Hoffman, 
William Gilmore, 
Adam M'Kinnie, 
John W. Taylor, 
Thomas J. Earley, 
William Skinner, 
Jacob S. Brown, 
William M'Grath, 
Samuel Brandt, 
John Doebler, 
J. W. Fletcher, 
S. F. Greenawalt, 
John Swene}^, 
Michael Gable, 



'• 5th, 1789, " •' 

from October, 1790, to October, 1793. 



1793, " 


1796. 


1796, " 


1799. 


1799, " 


1802, 


1802, " 


1805, 


1805, " 


1808. 



" 1808, to Nov. court, 1811. 

Nov. court, 1811, to Nov, court, 1814. "^ 

" 1814, " " 1817."/ 

" 1817, '• " 1820. 

" 1820, to June, 1823. 

16th June, 1823, to Nov. court, 1823. 

Nov. court, 1823, " " 1826. 

" 1826, " " 1829. 

" 1829, " " 1832. 

" 1832, ". " 1835. 

" 1835, " " 1838. 

" 1838, " " 1841, 

" 1841, " " 1844, 

" 1844, to October " 1847. 

Oct. court, 1847, " " 1850. 

" 1850, to Nov. " 1853. 

Nov,court, 1853, to Oct. " 1856. 

Oct. court, 1856, to Nov. 18th, 1859. 

Nov. 18th, 1859, to Oct. 18th, 1S62. 

October, 1862, to November, 1865. 

November, 1865, to October, 1868. 

October, 1868, to November, 1871. 

November, 1871, to Jan. 4th, 1875. 

Jan. 4th, 1875, to Jan. 7th, 1878. 

Jan. 7th, 1878. 



24G 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



CORONERS. 



Jollll Ilea, 
John Johnston, - 
Conivad Snider, 
Conrad Snider. - 
George Clark, 
George Clark, 
George Clark, 
Matthew Duncan, 
Archibald Rankin, 
Archibald Rankin, 
James Campbell, - 
Andrew Robeson, 
Robert Liggett, 
William Young, 
Thomas M'Kinstr}', 
William Young, 
David Washabaugh, 
James Burns, - 
Allen K. Campbell, 
John Tritle, 
James M'Dowell, - 
William Slyder, 
Alexander Hamilton, 
John M. M'Dowell, - 
James Burns, 



When appointed. 
October 20th, 1784 
October 26th, 1785 
November 20th, 1786 
October 23d, 1787 



November 

November 

October 

October 

October 

January 

October 

January 

May 

February 

October 

December 

March 

January 

November 

November 

November 

October 

November 

November 

November 



8th, 1788 

5th, 1789 

22d, 1790 

21st, 1793 

21st, 1796 

19th, 1801 

28th, 1805 

nth, 1809 

1st, 1812 

14th, 1815 

24th, 1817 

5th, 1820 

6th. 1824 

22d", 1827 

24th, 1829 

29th, 1832 

18th, 1835 

30th, 1838 

16th, 1841 

6th, 1844 

3d, 1849 



COUNTY TREASURERS 



were appointed by the County Commissioners until the act of 
27th May, 1841, provided for their election, in October of that 
year, to hold office for two years, from the first Monday of 
January after their election. 

The following is a list of the names of those persons who 
have been Treasurers of this county, with their years of ser- 
vice; 
Dr. Ceorge Clingan, .... - 1785-1790 

Matthew Wilson, 1790-1793 

John Riddle, 1793-1796 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 24:7 

Patrick Campbell, - - - - - lt96-1806 

David Denny, 1806-1809 

Jacob Heyser, 1809-1812 

Henry Reges, ..--.- 1812-1814 

John Hershberger, 1814-181t 

Jacob Heyser, 18n-1820 

William Heyser, 1820-1823 

Samuel G. Calhoun, - . . . 1823-1824 

Dr. John Sloan, 1824-1825 

Hugh Greenfield. 1825-182T 

William Hamilton, ... . 1827 

Daniel Spangler, 182t-1880 

Joseph Pritts, - 1830-1832 

Henry Smith, 1832 

Jasper E. Brady, - 1833-1836 

George Garlin, Jr., 1836-1839 

Henry Smith, 1839-1842 

ELECTED HEREAFTER FOR TWO YEARS. 

Joseph Pritts, 1842-1844 

George K. Harper, 1844-1846 

George Garlin, 1846-1848 

William M'Lellan, 1848-1850 

Lewis Denig,* 1850-1852 

Washington Crooks, 1852-1854 

Daniel K. Wunderlich, 1854-1856 

J. Smith Grier, 1856-1858 

William D. M'Kinstry, 1858-1860 

John Stouffer, 1860-1862 

•George J. Balsley, 1862-1864 

James G. Elder, 1864-1866 

John Hassler, ..--.-. 1866-1868 

George W. Skinner, . . • . . 1868-1870 

William Reber, 1870-1872 

Samuel Knisley, 1872-1874 

Hiram M. White, 1874-1876 

* Jeremiah Snider was elected Treasurer in October, 1849, but not 
being able to give the bond required b}^ law, he resigned January 7, 

1850, and the County Commissioners that day appointed Lewis Denig 
to fill the vacancy. 



248 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OP FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



FOB THREE YEARS UNDER NEW CONSTITUTION. 

Elias K. Lehman, 1876-1879 



COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. 

James Poe, John Work, John Beard. 

John Work, James Poe, John Beard. 

John Beard, James Poe, John Work. / 

Robert Bo3^d, James M'Connell, William Allison.' 

James M'ConneU-, William Allison, Josiah Crawford. 

William Allison, Josiah Crawford, Matthew Wilson. 

Matthew Wilson, James Poe, Daniel Ro^'er. 

Matthew Wilson, James Poe, John Work. 

James Poe, Daniel Royer, James Chambers. 

Daniel Royer, James Chambers, George Hetich. 

James Chambers, George Hetich, Henry Work» 

George Hetich, Henry Work, William Scott. ,■ 

Henry Work, William Scott, William Allison,^' 

William Scott, William Allison, James Irvin. 

William Allison^ James Irvin, John Holliday. 

James Irvin, John Holliday, Nathan M'Dowell. 

John Holliday, Robert M'Dowell, David Maclay. 

Robert M'Dowell, David ]\[aclay. 

R. M'Dowell, David Maclay, William Rankin. 

R. M'Dowell, David Macla}', Archibald Rankin, Jacob 

Hej'ser. 
William M'Clay, Archibald Rankin, Jacob Heyser. 
William M'Clay, Jacob Heyser, Patrick Campbell. 
Jacob Heyser, Patrick Campbell, John Royer. 
Pat Campbell, James Smith, Jacob Dechert. 
Jacob Dechert, John Rothbanst, Robert Crooks. , 

John Rothbaust, Robert Crooks, William Alexander. ^ 
John Rothbaust, Robert Crooks, William Alexander..*^ 
David Rankin, John Cox, Ludwig Heck. 
David Rankin, John Cox, Ludwig Heck. 
John Cox, Ludwig Heck, Isaac Eaton. 
Ludwig Heck, James M'Dowell, John M. Macla^'. 
James M'Dowell, John M. Maclay, William Bleakney. 
John M. Maclay, William Bleakne^', Philip Berlin. 
William Bleakney, Philip Berlin, William Rippey, Jr. 
Philip Berlin, William Rippe}', Jr., David Beshore. 




IirSTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 241) 

William Rippey, Jr., David Besliore, Frederick Miller. 
Frederick Miller, David Beshore, Andrew Thomson. 
David Beshore, Frederick Miller, Andrew Thomson. 
Andrew Thomson, James Walker, Jacob Wunderlich. 
Jacob Wunderlich, Philip Laufman, David Fullerton. 
Jacob Wunderlich, Philip Laufman, Benjamin Kej'ser,, 
Philip Laufman, Benjamin Keyser, William He^^ser. 
William Heyser, Benjamin Keyser, John W^alker. 
William Heyser, John Walker, Daniel Shaffer. 
John Walker, Daniel Shaffer, John Kadebaugh. 
Daniel Shaffer, John Radebaugh, John W^alker. 
Daniel Shaffer, John Radebaugh, Jacob Walter. .,„ 
John Radebaugh, Jacob Walter, Samuel Dunn. 
Samuel Dunn. Joseph Culbertson, John Cox. 
Joseph Culbertson, John Cox, Tobias Funk. 
John Cox, Tobias Funk, George Hoffman. 
Tobias Funk, George Hoffman, George Johnston. 
George Hoffman, John Johnston, John Johnston, (of 

George.) 
John Johnston, John Johnston, (of George,) George 

Hoffman. 
John Johnston, (of George,) D. Washabaugh, Emanuel 

Hade. 
John Johnston, (of George,) D. Washabaugh, Emanuel 

Hade. 
D. Washabaugh, Emanuel Hade, William Seibert. 
Emanuel Hade, William Seibert, Garland Anderson. 
William Seibert, G. Anderson, James Burns. 
G. Anderson, James Burns, Jacob Oyster. 
James Burns, Jacob Oyster, Thomas Pumro3^ 
Jacob Oyster, Thomas Pumroy, James Davison.^ 
Thomas Pumroy, James Davison, George A. Madeira- 
James Davison, George A. Madeira, Dewalt Keefer. 
G. A. Madeira, Dewalt Keefer, John A. Shank. 
D. Keefer, John A. Shank, George S. Eyster. 
John A. Shank, George S. Eyster, James Lowe. ■ 
George S. Ej'ster, James Lowe, John Alexander. 
James Lowe, John Alexander, John Huber. 
John Alexander, John Huber, Jos. Johnston. 
John Huber, Jos. Johnston, Robert MTlvauey. 



250 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



1856 
1851 
1858 
1859 
1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
186Y 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 
1876 
1877 
1878 



Jos. Johnston, Robert M'llvanej', Samuel M3'ers. 
Robert M'llvaney, Samuel Myers, D. M. Leisher. 
Samuel Mj^ers, 1). M. Leisher, John S. Nimmon. 

D. M. Leisher, John S. Nimmon, J. A. Eyster. 
J. S. Nimmon, J. A. Eyster, Jacob S. Good. 
J. A. Eyster, Jacob S. Good, James D. Scott. 
Jacob S. Good, James D. Scott, John Nitterhouse. 
James I). Scott, John Nitterhouse, John Downey. 
John Nitterliouse, John Downey, Ileury Good. 
John Downe}', Henry Good, John Armstrong. 
Henry Good, John Armstrong, Daniel Skinner. 
John Armstrong, Daniel Skinner, Jonas C. Palmer. 
Daniel Skinner, J. C. Palmer, William Shinafield. 
J. C. Palmer, William Shinafield, E. K. Lehman. 
William Shinafield, E. K. Lehman, J. B. Brumbaugh. 

E. K. Lehman, J. B. Brumbaugh, S. M. Worley. 
J. B. Brumbaugh, S. M. Worley, R. J. Boyd. 

S. M. Worle}', R. J. Bo3'd, Jacob Kauflman. 
R. J. Boyd, Jacob Kauffman, W. D. Guthrie. 
Jacob Kauffman, W. D. Guthrie, Samuel Coble. 
Daniel Gelwix, James Patton, J. Watson Craig. . 
Daniel Gelwix, James Patton, J. Watson Craig. 
Daniel Gelwix, James Patton, J. Watson Craig. 



CLERKS TO COMMISSIONERS. 

Unknown, 1784-1788 

Robert Boyd, 1788 

Unknown, - - - - - - - 1789-1796 

James Parks, 1796-1799 

William Scott, 1799 

William Orbison, - - - - - 1800 

William Ward, Jr., 1801-1804 

Thomas G. M'Culloh, 1804-1806 

J.M.Russell, 1806 

E. B. Mendenhall, 1807 

Henry Reges, 1808-1811 

William M.M'Dowell, .... 1811-1815 

Peter S. Deckhert, 1815-1818 

Daniel Spangler, 1818-1827 

Hiram Cox, 1827 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 251 

John Colhoun, 1828-1836 

nichard Morrow, 1836-1842 

Henry Smith, 1842 

James R. Kirb}', 1843 

I. H. M'Cauley, 1844-1846 

A. H. M'Culloh, 1846-1850 

John M. Fisher, 1850-1853 

Thomas L. Fletcher, 1853-1856 

Jacob Sellers, 1-856 

William Gelwicks, 1S5T 

Jacob Sellers, - 1858 

Samuel Longenecker, - - - - - 1859 

George Foreman, 1860-1871 

H. C. Koontz, 18n 

H. C. Keyser, 1872 

H. S. Shade, 1873-1815 

H. C. Keyser, 1875 

Thomas M. Kelson, 1876 

PARTIAL LIST OF COUNTY AUDITORS. 

1785-1788, Unknown. 

1788, James Johnston, Benjamin Chambers, James Ir- 

win. 
1789-1793, Unknown. 

1793-1794, Benjamin Chambers, James Irwin, John Pvea. 
1794-1798, Unknown. 
1798-1800, James Ramsey, John Brown. 
1800-1801, John Brown, James Buchanan. 

1802, James Buchanan, Nicholas Clopper. 

1803, Nicholas Clopper, George Hetich. 

1804, George Hetich, William Scott. 

1805, Nicholas Clopper, William Scott, Robert Smith. 

1806, William Scott, Robert Smith, Thomas Brown. 

1807, Robert Smith, Thomas Brown, John Gilraor. 

1808, Thomas Brown, John Gilmor, John Ilolliday. 

1809, John Gilmor, John Hollida}^, David Rankin. 

1810, I). Fullerton, David Maclay, Henry Thompson. 

1811, Henry Thompson, David Fullerton, D. Maclay. 

1812, Henry Thompson, Robert Robison, Joseph Scott. 

1813, Robert Robison, Joseph Scott. 



1 



252 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



Patrick Campbell, David Eby, William Scott. f 

David Eby, Andrew llobison, William Alexander. j 

William Alexander, Sr., Andrew llobison, John Walker. \ 

John Walker, John Cnlbertson. ; 

John Walker, John Culbertson, James M'Co}'. 

John Culbertson, James M'Co\^, John Flanagan. 

James M'Coy, John Flanagan, Thomas M'Clelland. 

John Flanagan, George Hetich. 

Thomas M'Clelland, (ileorge Iletich, Thomas Waddell. 

George Iletich, Joseph Grubb. 

Thomas Waddell, Joseph, Grubb, William Gamble. 

Joseph Grubb, William Gamble, Thomas Carson. 

William Gamble, Thomas Carson, John Walker. 

Thomas Carson, John W^alker, Isaac Ward. 

John Walker, Jacob Negle}', John Findla}-, Sr. 

Isaac Ward, Jacob Xegle}^, John M'Clintock. 

Jacob Negle}^ Archibald S. M'Cune. 

Archibald S. M'Cune, J. Allison. 

J. Allison, James Colhoun. 

Jacob Ileyser, Joseph Pumroy. 

Jacob Ileyser, Joseph Pumro}^, John M'Clintock. 

Joseph Pumroy, John M'Clintock, John W^itherow. 

John M'Clintock, John Witherow, Jacob Negley. 

John Witherow, Jacob Negley. 

Jacob Negley, William Fleming, David Lytle. 

William Fleming, David Lytle, John Orr. 

David Lytle, John Orr, J. 13. Guthrie. 

John Orr, J. B. Guthrie, John Deardorff. 

J. B. Guthrie, John D. Work, John Deardorff. 

John Deardorff, John D. Work, Robert Wallace. 

Samuel Lehman, Robert Wallace, John Tritle. 

Robert Wallace, John Tritle. 

John Tritle, John Johnston, Abram Stouffer. 

John Johnston, Abram Stouffer, Joseph Snively. 

Abram Stouffer, Joseph Snively, Thomas Carson, 

Joseph Snively, Thomas Carson, B. A. Doyle. 

Thomas Carson, B. A. Doyle, George W. Zeigler. 

B. A. Doyle, George W. Zeigler, James L. Black. 

G. W. Zeigler, James L. Black, W. A. Shields. 

William A. Shields, William Armstrong, David Spencer. 



1854 
1855 
1856 
1857 
1858 
1859 
1860 
1861 
1862 
1863 
1864 
1865 
1866 
1867 
1868 
1869 
1870 
1871 
1872 
1873 
1874 
1875 
1876 
1877 
1878 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. ZOO 

William Armstrong, David Spencer, W. S. Amberson. 
D. Spencer, W. S. Araberson, John Bowman. 
W. S. Amberson, John Bowman, C. W. Burkholder. 
John Bowman, C. W, Burkholder, D. 11. M'Pherson. 

C. W. Burkholder, D. H. M'Pherson, William Fleagie. 

D. H. M'Pherson, William Fleagie, J. R. Brewster. 
William Fleagie, Andrew Davison, John Downey. 
John Downe}', Andrew Davison, George Jarrett. 
John Downe}', George Jarrett, D. K. Wunderlich. 
George Jarrett, D. K. Wunderlich. 

D. K. Wunderlich, D. B. Martin, W. S. Amberson. 
D. B. Martin, W. S. Amberson, M. Martin. 
W. S. Amberson, D. B. Martin, Samuel W. Nevin. 
M. Martin, Samuel W. Nevin, Samuel M^^ers. 
Samuel W. Nevin, Samuel Myers, Joseph Mowers. 
Samuel W. Nevin, Samuel Myers, Joseph Mowers. 
Samuel M^^ers, Joseph Mowers, J. W. Winger. 
Joseph Mowers, J. W. Winger, John C. Tritle. 
J. W. Winger, John C. Tritle, John A. Sellers. 
John A. Sellers, John Cressler, Samuel Taylor. 
John A. Sellers, John Cressler, H. R. Harnish. 
J. Cressler, H. R.. Harnish, Samuel Taylor. 
Samuel Taylor, W. H. Blair, William M. Gillan. 
Samuel Taylor, W. H. Blair, William M. Gillan, 
Samuel Taylor, W. II. Blair, William M. Gillan. 



POOR HOUSE. 

The Act of Assembly for the erection of the ''House for the 
employment and support of the poor" of our count}^ was ap- 
proved by the Governor, March 11th, 1807. The second sec- 
tion of the act provided that at the election to be held in 
October, 1807, five persons should be elected "to determine 
upon and fix the place on which the buildings should be erected," 
and also that there should be elected "three persons to be 
Directors of the Poor," one to serve for one year, one for 
two years, and one for three j^ears, their terms to be determin- 
ed by lot. 

William Allison, David Fullerton, John Colhoun, Colonel 
Joseph Culbertson and John Maclay, were elected the Com- 
missioners to fix the site for the Poor House ; and Robert 



254 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Liggett, James Robinson and Ludwig Ilcck, were elected 
Directors of the Poor. 

The Commissioners selected the farm of Thomas Lindsay 
(the site of the present Poor House) as the place where the 
Poor House should he erected, and in the year 1808 the direc- 
tors purchased it for the sum of eight thousand two hundred 
dollars. The farm then contained one hundred and sixty-five 
acres, and had a stone farm house, barn, &c., upon it. This 
house was somewhat enlarged, and used until the year 1811, 
when the large stone building now standing was put up. 

In the years ISSS-'Sl, the large brick house was erected at 
a cost of about twelve thousand dollars. The farm now con- 
tains about two hundred and ten acres. 

The following lists contain the names of the Directors of 
the Poor, their stewards, treasurers, attornej'S, clerks and 
phj^sicians, from the ^^ear 1807 to the present time, so far as 
they could be ascertained : 



1808 
1809 
1810 
1811 
1812 
1813 
1814 
1815 
1816 
181Y 
1818 
1819 
1820 
1821 
1822 
1823 
1824 
1825 
1826 
1827, 
1828 



DIRECTORS. 

James Robinson, Robert Liggett, Ludwig Heck. 
Robert Liggett, Ludwig Heck, Henry Etter. 
Ludwig Heck, Henry Etter, Isaac Eaton. 
Henry Etter, Isaac Eaton, Samuel Radebaugh. 
Isaac Eaton, Samuel Radebaugh. 
Samuel Radebaugh, Matthew Lind. 

, Matthew Lind, John Yance. 

Matthew Lind, John Yance, Philip Rerlin. 
John Yance, Philip Berlin, John Snider. 
Philip Berlin, John Snider, John Rudisil. 
John Snider, JohnTludisil, Matthew Patton. 
John Rudisil, Matthew Patton. D. Washabaugh. 
Matthew Patton, D. Washabaugh, J. Stoutfer. 
D. Washabaugh, J. Sfouffer, William M'Kesson. 
J. StoufTer, William M'Kesson, John &nider. 
William M'Kesson, John Snider, Thomas Yeates. 
John Snider, Thomas Yeates, Jacob Heck. 
Thomas Yeates, Jacob Heck, A. Thompson. 
Jacob Heck, A. Thompson, John Davison. 
A. Thompson, John Davison, Thomas Yeates. 
John Davison, Thomas Yeates, John Yance. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 255 

Thomas Yeates, John Yance, John Coble 

John Yance, John Coble, Samuel Dechart. 

John Coble, Samuel Dechart, Nicholas Baker. 

Samuel Dechart, Nicholas Baker, James Davison. 

Nicholas Baker, James Davison, John Radebaugh. 

James DaA'ison, John Radebaugh, John Orr. 

John Radebaugh, John Orr, Jacob Oyster. 

John Orr, Jacob Oyster, John Whitmore. 

Jacob Oyster, John Whitmore, William Linn. 

John Whitmore, William Linn, Samuel Campbell. 

William Linn, Samuel Campbell, Philip Nitterhouse. 

Samuel Campbell, Philip Nitterhouse, James Davison 

Philip Nitterhouse, James Davison, Matthew Patton. 

James Davison, Matthew Patton, Upton Washabaugh. 

Matthew Patton, LTpton Washabaugh, John Monn, Jr. 

Upton WasliaJ)augh, John Monn, Jr., Samuel Lehmaix 

John Monn, Jr., Samuel Lehman, John L. Detwiler. 

Samuel Lehman, John L. Detwiler, Daniel Bonebrake. 

John L. Detwiler, Daniel Bonebrake, Fred. Boyer. 

Daniel Bonebrake, Fred. Boyer, John Wise. 

Fred. Bo3'er, John Wise, David Hays. 

John Wise, David Hays, S. Detwiler. 

David Hays, S. Detwiler, Jacob Garver. 

Samuel Lehman, Jacob Garver, Martin Newcomer. 

Jacob Garver, Martin 'Newcomer, D. 0. Gehr. 

Martin Newcomer, D. 0. Gehr, James Ferguson. 

D. 0. Gehr, James Ferguson, Josiah Besore. 

James Ferguson, Josiah Besore. Jacob Weaver. 

Josiah Besore, Jacob Weaver, M. Gillan. 

Jacob Weaver, M. Gillan, Jacob Strickler. 

M. Gillan, Jacob Strickler, David Spencer. 

Jacob Strickler, David Spencer, J. S. Latshaw. 

David Spencer, J. S. Latr^haw, W^illiam Harris. 

J. S. Latshaw, William Harris, Samuel Seacrist. 

William Harris, Samuel Seacrist, John Doebler. 

Samuel Seacrist, John Doebler, John H. Criswell. 

John H. Criswell, James H. Clayton, Martin Heintzel- 

man. 
1866, John H. Criswell, James H. Clayton, Martin Heintzel- 

man. 



.256 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

186t, James II. Cla^-ton, Martin Ileintzelman, John Gillan, Jr- 

1868, Martin Heintzelman, John Gillan, Jr., J. R. Smith. 

1869, Martin Heintzelman, John Gillan, Jr., J. R. Smith. 

1870, John Gillan, John Smith, Fred. Long. 

1871, J. R. Smith, Fred. Long, Peter M'Ferren. 

1872, Fred. Long, Peter M'Ferren, David Deatrick. 

1873, Peter M'Ferren, David Deatrick, Jacob Kreider. 

1874, David Deatrick, Jacob Kreider, Amos Stouffer. 

1875, Jacob Kreider, Amos Stouffer, William Bossart. 

1876, Amos Stouffer, William Bossart, Henrj^ Lutz. 

1877, William Bossart, Henry Lutz, B. F. Fuuk. 

1878, Henry Lutz, B. F. Funk, Jacob Frick. 

STEWARDS OF rOOR HOUSE. 

Daniel Shroeder, 1808-1814 

Benjamin Gruver, ..... 1814-1821 

Richard Morrow, .... 1 . 1821-1827 

Philip Lauffman, --.... 1827-1830 

Andrew M'Lellan, - 1830-1833 

Col. John Snider, 1833-1839 

David Fegley, 1839 

William J. Morrow, ..... 1840-1843 

Emanuel Crosland, 1843-1845 

Samuel Jeffries, 1845-1854 

David Piper, 1854-1856 

William Shinafield, ..... 1856-1859 

John Bowman, ...... 1859 

James Chariton, 1860-1864 

William M'Grath, 1864-1866 

John Ditzlear, 1866-1868 

David Piper, 1868 

Samuel Brandt, 1869-1873 

Joseph Middower, - - - - - - 1873-1878 

TREASURERS OF POOR HOUSE. 

David Denny, 1808-1814 

Unknown, - 1814-1821 

William Heyser, 1821-1823 

John Sloan, 1823 

Hugh Greenfield, 1824-1827 

Daniel Spangler, 1827-1830 



HISTOEICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



257 



Joseph Pritts, 1830-1832 

Henry Smith, 1832-1835 

Jasper E. Brady, 1835 

William Bard, 1836-1838 

Henry Ruby. 1838 

Daniel Dechert, 1839-1843 

William Flory, 1843-1845 

Daniel S. Fahnestock, 1845-1848 

James Wright, - 1848 

D. S. Fahnestock, 1849-1856 

J. Smith Grier, 1856-1858 

John W. Reed, 1858-1861 

Charles Gelwicks, 1861-1869 

Alex. Martin, 1869-1872 

Thomas Metcalfe, 1872 

H. B. Davison, • - 1873-1878 

CLERKS TO DIRECTORS OF POOR. 

Elijah B. Mendenhall, 1808 

F. Hershberger, 1814 

Matthew Lind, 1815 

D. C. Dehart, 1816 

James M'Kay, 1817 

Henry Reges, 1818 

Daniel Spangler, ...... 1821 

Richard Morrow, .-..■-.' 1823 

Hiram Cox, 1827 

William S. Davis, 1828 

John Colhoun, 1831 

James R. Kirb}-, 1832 

John Smith, 1833 

John W. Reges, 1835 

Richard Morrow, 1837 

Jacob Heck, 1840 

Hugh B. Davison, ...... 1843 

Charles W. Heart, 1845 

John W. Reges, 1848 

ATTORNEYS AND^CLERKS. 

Lyman S. Clarke, 1851-1856 

J. Wveth Douglass, 1856-1859 

' 17 



-1814 



-1821 
-1823 
-1827 

-1831 



■1835 

-1837 
-1840 
-1843 
-1845 
-1848 
-1850 



258 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

Snively Strickler, 1859-1862- 

William S. Everett 1862-1866 

E. J. Bonebrake, 1866-1869- 

John R. Orr, 1869-1873 

James A. M'Knight, 1873-1876 

Frank Mehaffey, 1876-1877 

John M. M'Dowell, 1878 

PHYSICIANS TO POOR HOUSE. 

Abraham Senseny, 1808 

John Sloan, 1809-1814 

Andrew M'Dowell, 1815-1818 

George B. M'Knight, 1819-1820 

A. J. Dean, 1821-1823 

Samuel D. Culbertson, 1824-1826 

Peter Fahnestock, ,- 1827 

N. B. Lane, - - ' - - -. - - 1828 

Andrew M'Dowell, 1829-1830 

Jeremiah Senseny, . . . - . 1831-1832 

D. S. Byrne, 1833 

J. Bayne, 1834-1835 

A. H. Senseny, 1836-1837 

John Lambert, ...... 1838 

J. Evans, 1839-1841 

J. C. Richards, 1842-1843 

William H. Boyle, 1844 

John Lambert, 1845-1847 

N.B.Lane, - 1848-1849 

John King, 1850-1852 

John Lambert, ...... 1853 

A. H. Senseny, 1854 

S. G. Lane, 1855 

A. H. Senseny. 1856-1857 

W. H. Boyle, 1858 

S. G. Lane, 1859-1861 

James Hamilton, 1862-1863 

J. L. Suesserott, 1864-1865 

J. C. Richards, 1866-1867 

C. L. Bard and T. J. M'Lanahan, - - - 1868 

W. H. Boyle, 1869-1872 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 259 

T. J. M'Lanahan, . . . - - 1873-1875 

S. G. Lane, 1876-1877 

T. J. M'Lanahaii, 1878 

CHAPLAIN. 

Augustus Bicklcy, elected 1873, and still serving, 

DEPUTY SURVEYORS UNDER APPOINTMENT FROM THE SURVEYOR 

GENERAL. 

Zachariah Butcher, Lancaster county, - - 1736 

Thomas Cookson, " - - 1743-1746 

Colonel John Armstrong, Cumberland county, 1750 

Matthew Henderson, of Cumberland county, to 1784 

Matthew Henderson, of Lurgan township, - 1784-179& 

Daniel Henderson, 1796-1804 

Thomas Kirby, Chambersburg, - - - 1804-1809 

Thomas Poe, Antrim, 1809-18ia 

Archibald Fleming, Antrim, - - - - 1813-1821 

William S. Davis, 1821-1824 

William Hamilton, Peters or Montgomery, - 1824-1829 

William S. Davis, Chambersburg, - - 1830-1834 

Seth Kline, Greene, 1834-1836 

William S. Davis, Chambersburg, - - 1836-183T 

Samuel M. Armstrong, 1837-1839 

Hugh Auld, Chambersburg, - - - 1839-1845 

Augustus P. Armstrong, Chambersburg, - - 1845-1847 

Hugh Auld, Chambersburg, - - - 1847-1850 

COUNTY SURVEYORS. 

By the act of 9th April, 1850, County Surveyors were di- 
rected to be elected to serve for the term of three years each. 
The following persons have filled the office : 

Emanuel Kuhn, St. Thomas, - - - - 1850-1856 

John B. Kaufman, Letterkenny, - - - 1856-1862 

Emanuel Kuhn, Chambersburg,* ... 1862-1871 

John B. Kaufman, Letterkenny, ... 1871-1875 

John W. Kuhn, Peters, 1875-1878 

John B. Kaufman, Letterkenny, - - - 1878 

* Resigned April, 1871, and John B. Kaufman was appointed for 
the unexpired term. Mr. Kaufman was also elected for the full term. 
in October, 1871. 



260 HISTORICAL SKETCH OP FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS. 

Prior to the passage of the act of 1850, providing for the 
election of District Attorneys, the "State's Attorney" or "Prose- 
eating Attorneys" were the "Deputies" of the Attornej^ Gen- 
eral for the time being, appointed by him, and removable at 
his pleasure. Our court records prior to 1842 having been 
Ijurned, I have not been able to make more than a partial list 
of our former Prosecuting Attornej^s, as follows : 

John Clark, H 8 9-1 7 90 

William M. Brown, 1790-1802 

William Maxwell, Gettysburg, - - - 1802-1812 

William M. M'Dowell, .... 1813 

Matthew St. Clair Clarke, .... 1819 

Frederick Smith, 1824 

Wilson Reilly, 1842-1845 

William R. Rankin, . . . . . 1845-1847 

George W. Brewer, 1847-1849 

Hugh W. Reynolds, 1849-1851 

DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. 

Elected under the act of 3d of Ma}^, 1850, to serve three 
years, from first Monday in November after election. 

James S. Ross, 1851-1854 

Thomas B. Kennedy, )^ 1854-1857 
Lyman S. Clarke, ) 

Lyman S. Clarke, 1857-1860 

George Eyster, 1860-1863 

William S. Stenger, - - - - - 1863-1866 

William S. Stenger, 1866-1869 

William S. Stenger, 1869-1872 

Theodore M'Gowan, 1872-1875 

Oliver C. Bowers, 1875-1878 

Oliver C. Bowers, 1878 

JURY COMMISSIONERS. 

Elected under the act of 10th April, 1867, to serve for three 
years. 

1867-1870, Addison Imbrie, William Boyd. 
1870-1873, W. H. H. Mackey, Elias Patton. 
1873-1876, John Gilbert, A. H. Etter. 
1876-1879, J. C. M'Culloh, Lewis Lechron. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



261 



COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS OF COMMON SCHOOLS. 

Selected under act of 8th May, 1854, to serve for three years. 



1854-1857, James M'Dowell, 

Hugh J. Campbell, - 
1857-1860, Philip M. Shoemaker, 
1860-1863, Philip M. Shoemaker, 
1863-1866, Andrew J. M'Elwain, 
1866-1869, Philip M. Shoemaker, 
1869-1872, Samuel Gelwix, 
1872-1875, Jacob E. Smith, - 
1875-1878, S. H. Bby, 



salary, $600 per }- ear. 

- " 600 " 
" 500 " 

- " 600 " 
" 800 " 

- " 800 " 
" 1,200 " 
" 1,000 " 
" 1,000 "' 



A LIST OF THE CLERGYMEN OF OUR COUNTY, WITH THEIR 
PLACES OF RESIDENCE AND CHARGES, RESPECTIVELY, 



PRESBYTERIAN, 

Thomas Creigh, D. D., Mercersburg, 

J. Agnew Crawford, D. D., Chambersbur^ 
John C. Caldwell, - " 

R. Lewis M'Cune, - Mercersburg, 

' J, Smith Gordon, - Fannettsburg, 

Samuel C. Alexander, - Dry Run, 

Samuel C. George, - Chambersb'g, 

David K. Richardson, - Greencastle, 

Died Aug. 20, 1877, 
James H. Stewart, - " 

Installed Dec. 13, 1877. 
Joseph H. Fleming, 



Mercersburg, 
;, Falling Spring. 
Central Church. 
Fayetteville, 
f Lower Path Yallej' 
I and Burnt Cabins, 
Upper Path Yalle}-, 
( St, Thomas and 
( Rocky Spring, 
Greencastle, 



A. Stewart Hartman, 

R. H, Clare, 

A, Hamilton Schertz, 
F. Klinefelter, 
P, Bergstresser, - 
D, Blackwelder, 
N. J, Hesson, 



Welsh Run, Welsh Run, 

LUTHERAN, 

^, 1 , (1st Church, Cham- 

Chambersburg, -. ^ -, ' 

*' ( bersburg, 

,, (2d Church, Cham- 

( bersburg, (Ger.) 

" Grindstone Hill. 

Greencastle, Greencastle. 

Waynesboro, Waynesboro. 
Upper Strasburg, Upper Strasburg. 
Mercersburg, Mercersburg. 



262 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF, FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



B. F. Alleman, 
H. B. AVintoii, 
Hiram Knodle, 



William C. Cremer, 
H. I. Comfort, - 
Carl Gundlaeli, 
H. H. W. Hibshman, 
J. G. Brown, - 
E. E. Higbee, D. D., 
John H. Sykes, 
Jacob Hassler, 

Isaac M. Motter, - 



Sliippcnsljurg, Greenvillage. 
M'Connellsburg, Loudon. 
Clearspring,Md., Sylvan. 



William J. Stewart, 



EEFURMED. 

Cliambersburg, Cbambersburg. 
" Grindstone Hill. 

St. John's, (Ger.) 
Waynesboro. 
Mercersburg. 
College Church. 
Greencastle. 
Loudon. 
( Waynesboro and 
'( Mont Alto. 
St. Thomas. 



Waynesboro, 
Mercersburg, 

u 

Greencastle, 
Mercersburg, 

Waynesboro, 

St. Thomas, 



METHODIST EPISCOPAL. 



B. B. Hamlin, 
W. G. Ferguson, - 

M. L. Smith, - 

J.H.M'Cord, 
H. C. Cheston, - 
T. M. Griffith, - 
E. W. Wonner, 
W. Moses, - 
A. R. Bender, - 



Presiding Elder, 
- Chambersbur 



- Waynesboro, 
Greencastle, 

- Mercersburg, 
Loudon, 
Greenvillage, 
Mont Alto, 



Cbambersburg. 

(1st Church, Cham- 
=" ( bersburg. 

(King St. Church, 
( Cbambersburg. 
Waynesboro. 
Greencastle. 
Mercersburg. 
Loudon. 
Greenvillage. 
Mont Alto. 



UNITED BRETHREN IN CHRIST. 



H. A. Schlichter, 
W. A- Dickson, 
W. B. Evers, - 
W- H. Shearer, ■ 
D. W. Proffit, 
S. T. Wallace, - 
William Quigly, 

H. Stouffer, Sr., 
W. Humberger, 



- Chambersburg,Chambersburg. 

" Rocky Spring. 

- Greencastle, Greencastle. 
Orrstown, Orrstown. 
Funkstown, Funkstown. 
Loudon, Loudon. 

- Spring Run, Spring Run. 

I.OCAL PREACHERS. 

Cbambersburg. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



263 



Augustus Bickley, 
J. Fohl, 
J. M. Bishop, 
W. H. Rebok, 

H. C Swentzel, - 



Chambersburg. 

. . u 

u 
- Orrstown. 

PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL. 

- Chambersburg, Chambersburg. 

ROMAN CATHOLIC. 

T. J. Fleming, Pastor, Chambersburg, Chambersburg. 
Joseph Kalin, assistant, " " 



J. M. Carvell. 



John Hunsecker, 

John O. Lehman, 
Peter Wadle, 
Philip Parret, 
Eenjamin Lesher, 



Samuel Stoner, 
Jacob S. Lehman, 

Henry Strickler, 
-Jacob Frantz, 
Martin Hoover, 
•John Bonebrake, - 



Jos eph Wenger, 
H enry Lesher, 
Samu el Zook, - 
Aaron Wenger, 



CHURCH OF GOD. 

Chambersburg, jClaambersburg Orrs- 
*' ( town & Fay etteville. 



MENNONITE CHURCH. 
BISHOP. 



PRKA-CHERS. 



Letterkenny township. 

Letterkenny township. 
Greene " 



near Mercersburg. 

REFORMED MENNONITES. 
BISHOPS. 



PREACHERS. 



Guilford township. 



Montgomery township. 
Washingfton " 



"Waynesboro. 



RIVER BRETHREN. 
BISHOPS. 



Guilford 
Antrim 
Southampton 
Washington 



township. 



264 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 





PREACHERS. 




John Burkhart, 


. 


Lurgan 


John Bert, 


- 


" 


Noah Zook, 


. 


Southampton 


Martin Oberholtzer, 


- 


Greene 


Michael Wenger, 


. 


u 


Peter Bert, 


. 


Letterkenny 


William Tanner, 


. 


Peters 


Christian Stoner, 


. 


Montgomery 


Jacob Lesher, 


- 


Antrim 


Abraham Lesher, 


. 


u 


Isaac Shank, 


. 


u 


L. C. Wenger, 


. 


Waynesboro. 


Noah Myers, 


. 


Guilford 


George Wenger, 


. 


u 


John Sollenberger, 


- 


u 


Eli Martin, 


. 


Hamilton 


Benjamin Myers, 


TUNKERS. 
BISHOPS. 


Montgomery 


Joseph Gipe, 


. 


Guilford 


David Buck, 


- 


Quincy 


Henry Kontz, 


- 


Antrim 


John Shank, 


- 


u 


Jacob Price, 


PREACHERS. 


Washington 


Adam Pile, 


. 


St. Thomas 


Abraham Pile, 


. 


u 


John Lenard, 


. 


u 


Daniel Miller, 


_ 


Peters 


Daniel Miller, 


. 


Hamilton 


David Bonebrake, - 


- 


Quinc}^ 


Jonathan Baker, 


. 


Antrim 


Christian Royer, 


. 


u 


Benjamin Stouffer, 


. 


Guilford 


Jacob Oyler, 


- 


Waynesboro. 


Jacob Snider, 


_ . _ 


u 


Daniel Good, 


. 


Washington 


Daniel Baker, 


. 


a 


Henry Etter, - 


- 


Greene 



township. 



township. 



township. 



township. 



township.. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 265 

SEVENTH DAY BAPTISTS. 
PREACHERS. 

John Riddlesberger, - - - Quincy township, 

John Walk, . . . . " " 

MORMONISM IN OUR COUNTY. 

The f\ict that an effort was made, years ago, under the 
leadership of Sidney Rigdon, one of the first Presidents of 
the Mormon church, to build their promised new "city of 
Zion" within the borders of our county has passed away from 
the recollection of most of our people. And yet such was 
the fact. Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, and Sid- 
ney Rigdon were intimate acquaintances for a considerable 
time before Mormonism was first heard of. Together they 
planned the great imposture which the}' subsequently brought 
into life as the "Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day 
Saints." It was started at Manchester, New York, in April^ 
1830. In January, 1831, Smith, who claimed to be the "Pro- 
phet of the Lord," led his followers to Kirtland, Ohio, which 
he then said was to be the seat of the City of the New Jeru- 
salem. There they remained until January, 1838, organizing 
the church, appointing presidents, bishops and apostles, and 
sending out missionaries to all the ends of the earth. They 
built a large and costly temple, which it took them three years 
to erect. There they had a bank, run by Smith and Rigdon, 
which failed disastrously for its noteholders and depositors, 
and Smith and Rigdon fled to Missouri to avoid arrest. Their 
deluded followers went after them, being called so to do by a 
new revelation from Smith, as prophet. They were soon 
driven out of Missouri, Smith and Rigdon having been tarred 
and feathered by the indignant Missourians, and came back 
to Commerce, Carthage county, Illinois, in 1840, where they 
founded the city of Nauvoo, and built a magnificent temple. 
There, in July, 1843, Smith promulgated the revelation in 
relation to polygamy, making a plurality of wives one of the 
doctrines of the new church. It was not well received by 
many of his co-workers. Dissensions arose ; the church split 
into factions ; anarchy and lawlessness were wide spread. 
The people of the State of Illinois arose in arms against the 
doctrines and crimes of those who had thus come amongst 



266 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRAKKLIN COUNTY. 

them as fugitives from the neighboring State of Missouri. 
Smith and his brother Hyrum, and some sixteen others, were 
arrested and imprisoned at Carthage, the county seat, where, 
on the evening of the 27th of June, 1844, Joseph and Hjrum 
Smith were killed by an armed mob. The death of their pro- 
phet caused much temporary confuson among the saints. 
Sidney Rigdon aspired to succeed him as head of the church, 
but Brigham Young was chosen first President, and Rigdon, 
being contumacious, was cut off from the communion of the 
faithful, cursed, and solemnly delivered over to the Devil, 
"to be buffeted in the flesh for a thousand years." In a short 
time Rigdon, who had a considerable number of followers? 
seceded and came eastward to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where 
they established a paper through which to spread their doctrines. 
But public sentiment being against them, they resolved to re- 
move to a more quiet neighborhood. 

In September, 1845, the city of Nauvoo was cannonaded 
for three days by the forces of the State of Illinois, its in- 
habitants driven out at the point of the bayonet, and the city, 
with its magnificent temple and public buildings, wholly de- 
stroyed. About the same time two of Rigdon's emissaries 
came through the southern part of our county, on the turn- 
pike leading from Mercersburg to Greencastle. Stopping upon 
the bridge spanning the Conococheague creek, about a mile 
and a quarter west of Greencastle, they looked over the farm 
of Andrew G. M'Lauahan, Esq., which lay spread out just 
north of them, and said that "there was the place the Lord 
had shown them in visions was to be the site of the City of 
the New Jerusalem." In a short time afterwards Mr. Peter 
Boyer, a wealthy farmer of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, 
came on and contracted with Mr. M'Lauahan for his farm of 
four hundred acres, at the price of fourteen thousand seven 
hundred dollars. Six hundred dollars were paid in cash, and 
on the 3d of April, 1846, Mr. M'Lauahan received five thousand 
four hundred dollars additional, gave a deed and took a judg- 
ment for the balance of the purchase money-— eight thousand 
seven hundred dollars — payable April, 1st, 1847. The pur- 
chaser at once took possession, and in a short time Sidney 
Rigdon, Elders Hyde and Heber, Judge Richards, William 
E. M'Lellan, Hatch, Hinkle, Zody, Grimes, Ringer and others 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OP FRANKLIN COUNTY. 267 

joined them. The band numbered from one to two hundred 
all told. The most of them went upon the farm, where they 
said that they intended to lay out a great city, build a magnifi- 
cent temple and other needed public edifices. Quite a number 
of them located in the town of Greencastle, where they es- 
tablished a weekly newspaper, called the "Conocoheague Her- 
ald," under the editorship of Mr. E. Robinson, the church 
printer. Among them were professional men, mechanics and 
farmers, and one or two who had been heavy capitalists in 
Pittsburg when they joined the band, but their riches had been 
squandered subsequentl}'. Sidney Rigdon was their Prophet 
and High Priest. Every Sunday they held services in the 
barn on the farm, Rigdon generally doing the preaching ; oc- 
casionally one of the elders held forth. Their meetings vrere 
largely attended by the people of the neighborhood, more from 
curiosity to hear what would be said than from any similiarity 
of thought or feeling with them. The}' made few converts 
amongst our people — not perliaps, over half a dozen in the 
whole county. They talked largely about what they intended 
to do — about laying out avenues and streets, building glass 
works, cotton mills, &c. But most of them lived in idleness 
the while, and all their plans soon came to naught. Their 
money was soon spent ; death swung his scythe amongst them 
and cut down quite a number of them ; others became dis- 
couraged and left ; they could not meet their indebtedness 
due to Mr. M'Lanahan on the 1st of April, 1847, and the farm 
was sold at sheriff's sale and bought in by Mr. M'Lanahan, in 
August of that year, who again obtained possession of it in 
IS'ovember following. After this death-blow to their hopes 
and prospects all discipline and organization were at an end, 
and the band dissolved. A majority of them went to Salt 
Lake, whilst others joined the Gentiles and started life anew. 
In the pines, on the farm, a number of them lie buried, and 
the spot is known as the "Mormon-Graveyard." 

Brigham Young died at Salt Lake City, August 29th, 18YY, 
aged seventy-six years. It is thought by many that Mormon- 
ism will not long survive this event ; that there is no person 
among his followers who will be able to keep them together as 
he did ; that divisions and heart burnings will inevitably arise, 
no difference upon whose shoulders his mantle may descend, 



268 



HISTORICAL SKETCn OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



and that disintegration and dissolution must speedily follow. 
An historian cannot foretell the future. It is his province to 
speak of the past^ and Time alone will show what is to become 
of this great imposture of the nineteenth century. 

PHYSICIANS RESIDING IN FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



James K. Davidson, - 
William Grubb, 
Adam Carl, 
A. A. Miller, 

D. Rench Miller, 
Thomas M. Kennedy, 
George Carl, 

A. S. Bonebrake, - 

E. A. Hering, 

Isaac N. Snively, - ■ 
Benjamin Frantz, 
J. Burns Amberson, 
John Ripple, 
A. H. Strickler, - 
G. W. Boteler, 
Ezekiel Hartzell, - 
Henry K. Byers, 
William C. Lane, 
Robert S. Brownson, 
Eliab Negley, 
D. F. Unger, 
Thomas H. Walker, 
Frank Oellig, - 
John S. Flickinger, 
M. G. Alexander, 
John M. Yan Tries, - 
Robert W. Ramsey, 
George R. Cauffman, - 
Charles H. Garver, - 
J. C. Gilland, 
11. X. Bonbrake, 
Hiram Buhrman, 
Charles T. M'Clay, 
David M'Clay, 



Greencastle. 



Waynesboro. 



Fayetteville. 

Orrstown. 
Mercersburg> 



near 



Fannettsbiirg. 

u 

St. Thomas. 

u 

Cauftman's Station. 

Scotland. 

New Franklin. 

Mont Alto. 

Funkstown. 

Greenvillage. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



269 



T. B. Reifsnyder, 


... 


Greenvillage. 


William A. Hunter, 


. 


Upper Strasburg, 


James M. Gelwix, 


. 


u 


Henry G. Christman, 


. 


Welsh Run. 


William P. Noble, - 


. 


Upton. 


Joseph H. M'Clintic, 


. 


Loudon. 


William A. Hinchman, 


. 


u 


J. B. M'Donald, - 


. 


Concord. 


Samuel R. Ickes, 


. 


Dry Run. 


John H. Flickinger, 


. 


a 


W. 0. Skinner, 


. 


u 


D. F. Royer, 


. 


Shady Grove. 


M. M. Gerry, 


. 


Sylvan. 


John Montgomery, 


. 


Chambersburg. 


A. H. Senseny, 


- 


u 


B. Rush Senseny, 


. 


u 


Edgar N. Senseny, 


. 


u 


Jacob L. Suesserott, 


. 


(( 


Samuel G. Lane, 


. . _ 


(( 


William H. Boyle, 


. 


(( 


T. Johnston M'Lanahan, - - - 


(( 


John Seibert, - 


. 


il 


S. F. Reynolds, (Eclectic,) 


li 


B. Bowman, (Homeopathic,) 


u 


I. Y. Reed, " 


■ 


u 


J. F. Nowell, " 


ATTORNEYS. 


Greencastle. 


John Clark, 


admitted^September term, ItSi 


Robert Magaw, 


" December " " 


Thomas Hartley, 


u u 


a li 


James Hamilton, 


u u 


a a 


Thomas Duncan, 


(( u 


u u 


Thomas Smith, 


u u 


(( u 


Ross Thompson, 


u u 


u a 


Ralph Bowie, 


(( u 


u u 


James Ross, 


U (( 


u u 


James Riddle, 


(( u 


u a 


Stephen Chambers, 


u a 


a u 


John M. M'Dowell, 


u a 


u u 



270 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



Andrew Dunlop, 
William Bradford, Jr., 
James Carson, 
James Smith, 
Jasper Yeates, 
Samuel Riddle, 
David AVatts, 
James Oi'bison, 
M'Steel Sample, 

* Thomas Hartley, 
*Thomas Duncan, 
*James Riddle, 
Andrew Dunlop, 
William M. Brown, 
John Smith, 

* Samuel Riddle, 
George Smith, 
*John Clark, 
Richard Smith, 
James Duncan, 
John Cadwallader, 
George Armstrong, 
William Claggett, 
Jonathan Henderson, 
William Barber 
James Crawford, 
Parker Campbell, 
William Clark, 
Paul Morrow, 
James Brotherton, 
Samuel Hughes, 
Thomas Bailey, 
Joseph Shannon, 
George Jennings, 
William Reynolds, 
John F. Jack, 
Joseph Parks, 
Robert Haselhirst, 



admitted September term, 1*785 

u u u ' u 

U U U 1^<^Q 



March 

December 

u 

March 



September 



April 



May 

December 



1700 



1791 



1792 



1793 



1794 



1795 



1796 



1798 



*Those gentlemen marked thus were re-sworn after the adoption of 
the Constitution of 1790. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



271 



James Kelly, 

S. W. Culbertson, " 

Robert Ha3's, " 

William Orbison, " 

William Maxwell, " 

Jonathan Haight, " 

James Daubins " 

Wm. L. Kelley,(from N. J.) " 

William Ross, " 

Alex. Lyon • " 

Otho Shroder, " 

John I. Stull, (from Md.,) " 

Josiah Espy " 

James Carson, " 

Thomas G. M'Cullough " 

Andrew Boggs, " 

Samuel Leeper " 

David Snively, " 

Upton Lawrence, " 

" George Chambers, " 

Thomas H. Crawford, " 

James M. Russell, " 

John M'Connolly, " 

Andrew Caruthers, '' 

Elijah Mendenhall, " 

William L. Brent, " 

Wilson Elliott, " 

Charles B. Ross, " 

George Ross, " 

Daniel Hughes, " 

George Metzger, " 

Alexander Mahon " 

M. St. Clair Clarke, " 

Richard W. Lane, " 

John Larkel, " 

James Buchanan, " 

William Irwin, " 

John Johnson, " 

William S. Finley, " 

James Dunlop, " 



admitted December 
" April 



Ausrust 



April 



term, 1799 
" 1801 



1802 



January 
November 



August 
October 



January 



1803 



" 1806 
8th, " 
term, " 

u u 

12th, 180T 

u 

9th, " 
10th, " 



1808 



1809 
1810 



1811 

term, " 

a u 

1812 

u 

term, 1813 

u 
181T 



272 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



Paul I. Hetich, admitted 

Samuel Liggett, " 

James M'Dowell, " 

William Chambers, " 

Frederick Smith " 

Burr HaiTison " 

Samuel Ramsay, " 

Hugh Torrence, " 

Samuel Alexander, " 

James Riddle, " 

Robert M. M'Dowell, " 

John F. Denny, " 

Joseph Chambers, " 

Ebinger S. Finley, " 

John Williamson, " 

Archibald I. Findlay, " 
George Augustus Shryock, " 

Jacob Madeira, " 

Richard Bard, " 

John A. Sterrett, " 

Andrew Davison, " 

William Miller, Jr., " 

Thomas Chambers, " 

Dayid R. Denny, " 

John S. Riddle, " 

Reade Washington, " 

Thomas Harbison, " 

William S. Buchanan, " 

Leonard S. Johns, " 

Michael Gallaher, " 

Jasper Ewing Brady, " 

William M. Greer, " 

James M. Reynolds, " 

Andrew P. Wilson, " 

James X. M'Lanahan, " 

James II. Hepburn, " 

James Nill, " 

John M'Ginley, " 

Daniel Denny, " 

Joseph Minnick, " 



April 



Auffust 



April 
Ausfust 



term. 



August term. 



1818 



1819 
1820 

u 

u 
1821 



24th. 



21st, 
term. 



1822 
1823 



1824 



August 10th, 



1825 
1826 
1827 



August 14th, 





1828 




1829 


January 


11th, 1830 


April 


8th, " 



1831 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



273 



Robert M'Lelland, admitted 

Humphrey Robinsou, '• 

Andrew Hewlett, " 

Robert M. Bard, " 

A. J. Durboraw, " 
X. C. Snider, ' '• 
John W. Reges, " 

B. Bordle}' CraAvford, '• 
James W. Buchanan, " 

Wilson Reilly, " April 

Robert Quigley, " 

€. S. Ej-ster, ' " 

James W. M'Kinstr)', " 
William C. Aughiubaugh, '• 

William M'Lellan, " October 

Joseph Nill, '• 

Experience Estabrook, " 

John C. Williamson, " 

William R. Rankin, " 

Theodore Friend, '• 

George Chambers, Jr., '• 

James C. Moody, '• 

Isaac H. M'Cauley, '• April 

Hugh W. Reynolds, '• 

John A. Powell, " 
E. Crawford Washington, '• 

E. M. Biddle, " 

Frederick Watts, '• 

Samuel H. Tate, " 
Alexander H. M'Culloh, '• 

C3'rus G. French, '• 

W. Y. Davis, " 

Edward F. SteAvart, " 
Alexander Thompson, Sr., " 

William Baker, " 

Hon. James Cooper, '• 

DaA'id F. Robinson, '' 

Jacob H. Hej-ser, " 

Benjamin Chambers, " 

Lewis C. Levin, " 
18 



Xovember 15th, 1831 
1832 

January Uth, 1834 

1835 



4th. 1837 



2d, 



a 

1838 

u 

u 
1839 



1840 



10th, 



1841 



u 

c 

1842 

u 

a 

1843 

u 

a 



274 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



James S. Ross, 


admitted 






1843 


Abiier M. Fuller, 


" 






1844 


Louis M. Hughes, 


u 






u 


Alexauder Thomson, Jr 


•5 






u 


George W. Brewer, 


u 






u 


John M. Radebaugh, 


u 






1845 


Henr3' A. Mish, 


a 






u 


Robert P. M'Clure, 


(( 






u 


John Scott, 


u 






1846 


J. Parker Fleming, 


u 






u 


Alfred H. Smith, 


u 






u 


Yictorine N. Firor, 


u 






(C 


"Washington Crooks, 


u 






u 


Frederick M. Adams, 


u 






i84r 


John C. Culbertson, 


u 






- 


Frederick Smith, 


u 


August 


10th, 


u 


John Cessna, 


u 


January 


nth. 


1848. 


Edward G. Behm, 


u 


IC 


19th, 


u 


Thomas B. Kennedy, 


u 


April 


11th, 


u 


J. Randolph Coffroth, 


u 


November 


2d, 


u 


Perry A. Rice, 


u 


a 


u 


u 


Lyman S. Clark, 


u 


u 


u 


11 


Henry L, Fisher, 


u 


August 


ITth, 


1849 


Thomas M. Carlisle, 


u 


a 


u 


u 


Thomas B. M'Farland, 


u 


January 


25th, 


1850 


John G. Lemon, 


u 


April 


10th, 


1850 


William Adams, 


u 


kL 


u 


u 


BoliA-er B. Bonner, 


u 


January 


2 2d, 


1851 


David R. B. Nevin, 


;; 


u 


u 


a 


John Dosh, 


u 


u 


u 


u 


J. M'Dowell Sharpe, 


u 


March 


11th, 


u 


A. R. Cornyn, 


u 


August 


20th, 


u 


William Y. Davis, 


u 


March 


10th, 


, 1852 


Andrew J7. Rankin, 


u 


April 


14th, 


u 


Frederick Watts, 


u 


u 


u 


u 


Thomas L. Fletcher, 


;; 


August 


9th, 


u 


Columbus F. Bonner, 


a 


u 


u 


u 


James Buchanan Boggs 


', " 


u 


(( 


u 


Thomas A. Bo3-d, 


a 


;( 


u 


u 


George F. Cain, 


u 


u 


u 


u 



nrSTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



275 



William J. Baer, 


admitted 


January 


nth. 


1853 


James P. M'Clintock, 


u 


April 


12th, 


Li 


J. W. Douglas, 


(,(, 


u 


u 


a- 


William Carlisle, 


u 


u 


u 


U 


Frederick S. Stumlmug 


•h, " 


January 


nth, 


1854 


James Allison, Jr., 


u 


u 


u 


u 


George Ej^ster, 


u 


April 


12th, 


u. 


Hiram 0. Keyser, 


u 


June 


6th, 


u. 


A. J. Cline, 


u 


August 


15th, 


u 


John Kyle, 


u 


November 


2d, 


(i 


Philip Hamman, 


u 


April 


9th, 


1855 


F. A. Tritle, 


u 


u 


(,i 


((. 


Michael B. Do^'le, 


;( 


;; 


u 


ii. 


David H. Wiles, 


u 


August 


15th, 


IL- 


A. K. M'Clure, 


(( 


June 


nth. 


185^ 


Israel Test, 


u 


u 


u 


it 


James H. Bratten, 


u 


October 


29th, 


a 


George W. Welsh, 


(( 


u 


(( 


a 


John Roljison, 


u 


April 


13th, 


185t 


George Schle}', 


(( 


a 


14th, 


u. 


A. K. Seyster, 


u 


u 


u 


ii- 


H. J. Campbell, 


u 


u 


20th, 


u. 


H. S. Gassidy, 


u 


August 


10th, 


l(. 


J. C. Knnkel, 


u 


u 


12th, 


u. 


W. H. Miller, 


u 


il 


u 


u 


William S. Everett, 


ii 


u 


15th, 


u 


D. Watson Rowe, 


ii 


u 


(( 


u. 


Charles Sumner, 


u 


October 


26th, 


u 


J. D. W. Gillelan, 


(; 


u 


29th, 


(( 


C. A. M'Guigan, 


u 


4( 


u 


l(. 


J. P. Rhodes, 


u 


March 


9th, 


1858; 


John R. Orr, 


u 


A pril 


12th, 


ii~ 


Robert P. M'Kibben, 


ii. 


u 


u 


C( 


Calvin M. Duncan, 


u 


u 


u 


u. 


Snivel}^ Strickler, 


u 


u 


u 


u 


A. D. Furguson, 


u 


August 


10th, 


u 


William C. Logan, 


u 


u 


u 


u 


C. M. Barton, 


u 


u 


u 


u 


T. J. Nill, 


u 


October 


31st, 


u 


John W. Goettman, 


a 


(( 


u 


u 



^76 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



Charles 11. Ta^ior, admitted 

Thomas X. Orr, " 

William Kennedy, " 

J. A. S. Mitchell, " 

David W. Chamljers, '■ 

Henry G. Smith, '' 

E. J. Bonebrake, " 

Hiram M. White, " 

George M. Stenger, '• 

Jonathan C. Dickson, '■' 
T. J. M'Grath, 

Hastings Gehr, " 

Leonard C. Pittinos, '• 

Benjamin K. Goodyear, " 

William S. Stenger, " 

Jeremiah Cook, " 

Ross Forward, " 

George A. Smith, '• 

John Stewart, " 

Samnel Lyon, " 

D. W. Thrush, '• 

Amos Slaymaker, '• 

George 0. Sellhamer, " 

William Etter, '• 

J. Montgomery Irwin, " 
William H. Hockenherry, '• 

Joseph Douglas, " 

William M. Mervin, '• 
John W. Taylor, 

Jarrett T. Richards, '• 

K. Shannon Tajdor, '• 

J. Porter Brown, '■• 

Jacob S. Eby, '• 

S. J. Henderson, " 

George Chambers, " 

Stephen W. Hays, " 

Theodore M'Gowan, " 

Claudius B. M'Kinstr^-, " 

Amos S. Smith ' " 

Joseph M. M'Clure, '• 



January 
April 



August 



November 

January 

April 



28th, 1859 
Uth, •' 



8th, " 

15th, '• 

2d, '• 
2Gth, 18(30 
Uth, " 



August 18 th, 



January 

Li 


21st, 
2 2d, 
23d, 


1861 


u 


24th, 


'^ 


August 


12th, 


'■ 


Januaiy 


29th, 


a 


February 


1st, 


a 


October 


2Sth, 


1862 


January 


23d, 


1863 


April 


18th, 


'• 


October 


28th, 


^• 


April 


16th, 


1865 


August 

i; 


nth. 


4; 


November 


Tth, 


a 


August 


uth. 


1866 


Januar}^ 


22d, 
25th, 


i86r 


August 


13th, 


4( 


u 


16th, 


u 


November 


1st, 


u 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 



277 



John S. M'Cune, 
Wm. M. Penrose, 
Adam Keller, 
J. B. Cessna, 

A. D, Merrick, 
F. M. Darb}^ 
Wm. F. Duffleld, 
John D. DeGolly, 
Wm. F. Brewer, 
John A. H3'ssong, 
John M. M'Dowell, 
T. F. Garver, 

T. M. Mahon, 

W. F. Patton, 

John A. Robinson, 

Lewis W. Detrich, 

John C. ZeHer 

Ed. Stake, 

John R. Miller, 

J. Alexander Simpson, 

B. Frank Winger 
Andrew M'llwain, 
W. T. Cressler, 

C. Watson M'Keehan 
J. R. Gaff, 

Josiah Fnnek, 

Cyrus Lantz, 

S. S. M'Lanahan, 

B. M. Xead, 

Jos. M'Nulty, 

James A. M'Knight, 

A. G. Huber, 

T. H. Edwards, 

H. B. Woods, 

M. Williams, 

Andrew Gregg M'Lanalian, 

Dan. H. Wingerd, 

Wm. A. Morrison, 

A. G. Miller, Jr., 

Franklin Mehaffey, 



Jr., 



[ January 


20th, 


1868 


Cl 


2nh, 


u 


li 


a 


u 


April 


14th, 


u 


u 


2l8t, 


u 


August 


12th, 


u 


October 


2nh, 


u 


(( 


>i 


u 


December 


15th, 


u 


u 


u 


u 


April 


12th, 


1869 


June 


1st, 


u 


Januar}^ 


18th, 


1870 


(i 


u 


(( 


April 


21st, 


u 


August 


8th 


u 


December 


21st, 


u 


u 


u 


u 


u 


24th, 


u 


January 


25th, 


1871 


March 


12th, 


1871 



August 

u 
u 

February 

u 

June 



17th, 



6th, 1872 
7th, " 
4th, 1872 



October 


28th, 


u 


January 


20th, 


1873 


April 


14th 


u 


u 


17th 


u 


June 


3d, 


u 



August 



nth. 



MvLIN COUNTY. 




November 


14th, 


1873 


u 


nth. 


u 


January 


19th, 


1874 


September 


7th, 


1875 


April 


28th, 


1876 


June 


26th, 


1877 


Februar}^ 


u 


1878 



278 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN 

CL C. Bowers, admil 

JTohn Adams M'AUen, " 

.Jacob D. Ludwig, " 

JToshua W. Sharpe, " 

W. S. Alexander, " 
^Charles Suesserott, \ " 

JBenjamin Chambers, Jr., . " 

THE GREAT FLOOD OF NOVEMBER 24tH, 1877. 

.Never within the recollection of our oldest citizen has this 
county been visited by such a freshet as passed down the Ea8t 
iBranch of the Conococheague creek on Saturday the 24th and 
Sunday tlie 25th of November, 1877. On Thursday morning 
preceding, tlie rain began to fall, and continued steadily, 
though not very heavil}^, through all that day and night. On 
JFriday the 23d it rained steadily, and at times quite heavily. 
During Friday night the largest quantity of water fell. Satur- 
day morning and forenoon the rain fall was at times quite 
Iheavy, and at other times none fell. About noon of Saturday 
the Conococheague creek which passes tlirough Chambers- 
Tburg, began to rise, though no apprehensions were felt that the 
flood was going to be a destructive one until about four o'clock, 
P. M. It then became evident that much damage would be 
• done to both public and private property along its course. So 
rapidly did the stream rise just before night fall that various 
^persons residing near it who thought themselves safe above 
Jhigh water, had to flee for their lives, leaving their household 
goods to the mercy of the angry waters. 

By six o'clock the arches of the stone bridge over the creek 
-on Market street were nearly filled by the water, which had 
-also risen almost up to the lower floors of John Miller's, Hotel 
and the dwelling east of it on the bank of the creek, inhabited 
•by Reed M'Donald. 

At this time the scene at the furniture factory of "H. Sierer 
.& Co.," the old Lemnos edge tool factory, was most interesting. 
'This enterprising firm had a very large stock of lumber piled 
■.up in their yard and dry houses — had their finishing shop filled 
thi'oughout with a very large amount of finished and unfin- 
ished work — and their manufactory stored with machiner}^ and 
Jumber and parti}' finished work. At the hour named — six 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 279 

•o'clock P. M. — the ^vater was rushing with fearful velocity be- 
tween the main building and the dry houses and through the 
lumber yard. A large shed was lifted bodily from its founda- 
tions and hurled against the finishing house. The shock was 
so great that this latter building was shaken from its founda- 
tions and in a few minutes fell with a fearful crash, and its 
contents valued at $5,000 were swept away by the angry waters. 
In addition to this, the loss of this firm on lumber was about 
$1,500, whilst the damage to their real estate was from three 
to five thousand dollars more, and it will take a long time and 
jnuch labor and expense before their premises can be restored 
to their former condition. 

About seven o'clock in the evening the iron bridge near 
Heyser's Paper Mill, north of town, was lifted clear of its 
abutments, and carried down the stream with fearful rapidity. 
It passed safely under the stone bridge at King street, but 
struck the western pier of the Market street bridge with such 
force as to do considerable damage to the stone work. It, 
liowever, got through under this bridge and the iron bridge 
at Ludwig's brewer}^, and sunk just below Sierer's factory, 
where it yet lies. 

By eleven o'clock at night the water had reached its highest 
point, completely covering the ai'ches in the Market street 
bridge, and even dashing over the foot bridge connecting with 
the side walks. It then stood fourteen inches deep over 
the lower floor of Miller's Hotel, and M'Donald's dwelling, 
and was running across Market street at the west end of the 
bridge, in a stream some two or three feet in depth. At this 
time the scene was fearful to behold. The western arch of 
the bridge was almost closed up by debris from above, which, 
had lodged across it, and great fears were entertained that the 
other arches might be stopped up in a similar manner — and if 
such had been the case the damages to surrounding property 
would have been fearful and be^'ond computation. 

About this time the one story brick blacksmith shop of 
Miller & Bj-ers, situate in the yard of Miller's Hotel, near the 
bank of the creek, was swept away in toto with all its contents. 
About half-past twelve o'clock on Sunday morning, something, 
looking like the roof of a large building or bridge, struck the 
north-western corner of the Woollen Mill with a terrific thud^ 



280 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY, 

and about two-thirds of the western end of the structure,, 
from the foundation to the roof, came down witli a thunder- 
like crash. The same mass of timber that caused the damage 
to the "Woollen Mill struck the Market street l)ridge, which 
was already greatl}' injured by the previous shocks it had sus- 
tained, and the piers gave way, and a large part of the bridge,. 
being parts of two arches, went down, making a great hole in 
the road-way, and extending nearly two-thirds across the 
structure. The damage was so great that this bridge will have 
to be partially, if not wholly, taken down and rebuilt. 

At the Wolfstown fording, near Sierer's factory, the damage 
done w^as very great. From 150 to 200 feet of the heavy stone 
wall along the western side of the creek, as well as one-half 
of the bed of Franklin sti'eet was carried away. The iron 
bridge over the creek, recently built by the town council at a 
very heavy expense, was much damaged. The abutments 
were both injured more or less, whilst the centre pier was 
so greatly damaged that the western span of the bridge went 
down into the water, though it was not carried away. It can, 
however, be raised to its place again after the pier is repaired.. 
The fording at this point, which was formerly one of the safest 
on the creek, is now impassable — being washed out so greatly 
that at low water, there are at places in it where the water is 
ten feet deep. Below the fording an island nearly, if not al- 
together, one hundred feet in diameter, composed of brick, 
stone, sand and other debris from the damaged bridges and 
buildings above, has been formed, and the course of the stream^ 
completely changed and turned away from' its former channel. 
One or two persons who attempted to cross at the fording 
lately, supposing it to be in the same condition as before the 
flood, narrowly escaped being drowned. 

The water in the Conococheague, at Chambersburg, was 
never known to be so high before. Mr. John Brown, who had 
marked on the wall of his wagon maker shop, the highest 
point that the water had reached within the past forty years, 
informed me that this freshet was fully eleven feet above the- 
great flood of 1866, which was the highest within his knowl- 
edge. It was not until two o'clock on Sunday morning that 
the waters began to subside, and our people became assured 
that the danger was over. All along the course of the Cono- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 281 

cocheague creek, from its sources in the South mountain, down 
to its entrance into the Potomac, the losses hy the carrying^ 
away, and injury to bridges, the floating off of buildings, fences 
and other property, have been A'ery large. 

The great storm, of which this freshet was a part, extended 
over a large area of the country, from the Hudson river to the 
Mississippi, and far down into the Southern States. Along 
the Potomac and the James Rivers, and their tributaries, im- 
mense damages were done. One of the heaviest of these losses,. 
in which our people are interested, was that done to the Cum- 
berland Valley Railroad bridge over the Potomac River, near 
Williamsport, Maryland. Five spans of the bridge, on the 
Virginia side of the river, each about one hundred and forty 
feet long, were swept away, together with six double cars be- 
longing to the railroad company, which had been loaded with 
coal and iron, and placed upon the bridge, in order, if possi- 
ble, to prevent its being lifted from the piers by the water. 
The loss to the railroad company is about twenty-five thousand 
dollars. They are now erecting a new iron bridge of six spans, 
the total length of which is eight hundred and sixty-three feet, 
which will cost $40,000. One span of the former wooden 
bridge, on Mar3dand side of the river, will be used in connec- 
tion with the six new spans. The bridge has been I'aised on 
the Virginia side of the river, about five feet, and will thus 
be free from all danger from future freshets. 

In this section of the country this flood was a great sur- 
prise. Although a considerable quantity of water fell during 
the 22d and 23d, and in the forenoon of Saturday the 24th 
of November, yet no one supposed that enough water had 
fallen to raise the Conococheague to the dangerous condition 
it exhibited on the evening of the latter day. The west 
branch of the Conococheague was not much higher than it 
had been many times before, and little damage was done along 
.its course, whilst the Falling Spring, which rises in the same 
region of the county as the Conococheague, though not so 
close to the mountain, was little higher than usual. I am, 
therefore, induced to believe that along the South mountain, 
in the eastern part of our county, where the sources of the 
Conococheague have their rise, the rain fall must have been 
much heavier than down in the vallej^, and after soaking the 



282 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 

earth until it would hold no more, the surplus water was 
thrown off, and finding its vray into the various feeders of the 
creek produced the freshet along the stream. 

From Caledonia Furnace, which is on the head waters of 
the Conococheague, the freshet swept along tearing up the 
pike there, and carrying every thing moveable with it. At 
Renfrews, near Greenwood, the bridge was hurled from its 
abutments, and carried down the stream. Between Woodstock 
and Brookside on the Mont Alto Railroad, the track was much 
injured for three-fourths of a mile. At Hamb right's, the 
stream became a miniature river, spreading out near a mile in 
width. The bridges at this point, though damaged, were not 
swept awa}'. The bridge on the road from Fayetteville to Scot- 
land lost one abutment, and the frame work was swung entirely 
around, and it will cost some three to five hundred dollars to 
repair it. The county bridge at Scotland was swept away, 
and was wholly destro3''ed. It will cost from twenty -five hun- 
dred 'to three thousand dollars to replace it. The planing mill 
of D. W. Hess, at that point, and some twenty-two thousand 
feet of his lumber, were also swept away. Mr. Hess' loss was 
near twent^^-five hundred dollars. The "Red Bridge," on the 
Shippensburg pike, two and a half miles north of Chambers- 
burg, was also greatl}" damaged. The bridge at Lehman's 
Mill, though greath^ damaged, withstood the immense masses 
of water that surged against it. The next bridge on the 
stream — that at He3'ser's Mill was, as already stated, wholly 
destro3^ed, and it will cost from fifteen hundred to twenty-five 
hundred dollars to replace it. The nursery grounds of J. F. 
Nitterhouse were wholly submerged, but the damage done was 
not very great. At Hej-ser's Paper Mill the loss from the 
straw stacks swept awaj', and the damage done to the "straw 
boards" in the mill, was from five hundred to one thousand 
dollars. The damages to the Chambersburg Woollen Mill 
were from three thousand to four thousand dollars. John 
Brown's loss was about one hundred dollars. Miller & B_yers 
lost their accoun^books and all that was in their shop ; their 
damages being al)out two hundred dollars. John Miller's dama- 
ges by the flooding of his hotel, stables, &c., were about twelve 
hundred dollars. The foundation of the house of Ephraim 
Finefrock was swept out, and his loss will be near one hundred 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF FRANKLIN COUNTY. 283 

^ncl fifty dollars. The stone bridge at Market street was built 
in the years 1813 and 1814, by the county, at a cost of near 
four thousand dollars, and it will cost as much more to repair 
it, or })ut up a new bridge in its place. Calvin Grilbcrt esti- 
mates his loss at near one thousand dollars. George Ludwig 
■& Co., lost about two hundred barrels of ale, worth from eight 
hundred to one thousand dollars. The loss of Heniy Sierer & 
Co., as I have already stated, will be near ten thousand dollars, 
whilst an additional and large loss will be sustained through the 
stoppage of work in his manufactory, Tlie Inidge at the 
Wolfstown fording, and the Avail and roadway of Franklin 
street will have to be repaired at the expense of the borough 
of Chambersburg, and the repairs needed cannot be done un- 
der one thousand dollars. Below this point, though much dam- 
age was done by the sweeping away of fences, lumber, grain, 
•&C., none of the bridges were carried off, though most of them 
were more or less injured. The gross amount of damages 
along the Conococheague creek cannot be less than forty thou- 
sand dollars. 

In the south-eastern part of the county, along the eastern 
branch of the Antietam creek, which also has its sources in 
the South mountain, the damage to bridges, buildings, fences, 
&c., was also very great. At the junction with the west 
branch the waters were four feet higher than they were ever 
known to be in the past. The large bridge crossing the east 
branch at that point, on the Leitersburg turnpike, was swept 
away, and carried several hundred yards down the stream into 
Mai'3'land, where it remains. It originally cost near twenty- 
five hundred dollars, but a new one can now be built for about 
fifteen hundred dollars. It was built by the county, but was 
afterwards thrown into the line of the turnpike, and has been 
used thus for some j^ears. It is now a mooted question as to 
who should rebuild it. The losses to the residents along these 
-streams, from the carrj'ing away of bridges, fences, lumber, 
iay, straw, stock, &c., were very large, and the inconveniences 
that will be sustained by our people, from the interruption of 
their routes of travel cannot now be estimated, and manj^ months 
2nust necessarily elapse before they will be fully removed. 



INDEX 



PAGE 

Abraham, CaiJtain Noah 139 

company roll 139-142 

Academies and colleges , 104,221 

Acreage of the county 45 

Acreage of the State , 6 

Action of pcoi)le of Cumberland Valley 41 

Adams, lion. Stephen 176 

Ahl, Hon. John A 178 

Alexander, Captain William, his company 160 

Allison, Col. John 41, 64,209 

Alto Dale 204 

America, discovery of 5 

Antrim township, formation of 17, 187 

division of 194 

Armstrong, Colonel Joseph 117 

his company roll 117 

his regimental otficers 118 

Arts, the lost, in our county 181 

Assembly, first members of 49 

Associate judges 56,239 

Attorneys in 1786-88 59 

general list of , 269 

to poor directors 257 

prosecuting, list of 260 

Auditors, county 250 

Augers, manufacture of 1S3 

Austin, Major James 1C6 

Baltimore, Lord, grant to. 13 

Banks in county 94 

Baptists, Seventh-day, clergy of : . . 264 

Bard, Captain Thomas, his company 157 

Before formation of county 5 

Blair, Rev. Samuel 127 

Boyd, Capt. R. J 167 

Boyd, Capt. W. H., Jr 167 

Brady, Capt. Samuel 116 

Brand, Capt.l.A. J 165 

Bridgeport 204 

Brown, John, his raid 224 

Brownson, Capt. R. S 166 



28G INDEX. 

PAGE,. 

Buchanan, Hon. James IT^ 

Bucks count}', organization of T 

Campbell, Hon. Alex 179' 

Campbell, Col. Charles T 162-4 

Camp Hill 204- 

Carrick 204 

Carson, Hon. Thomas 179' 

Cashtown , 204 

Catholic clergy •. . . 263- 

Centre or Centre Square ■ 205- 

Chambers, Colonel Benjamin 9,35, 190' 

Chambers, General James 39, 56, 73, 121, 143- 

his first company roll 123- 

Chambers, Hon. George ! 178^ 

Chambersburg, attorneys in, 1786 59' 

laid out 35- 

in 1784-88 6a 

inn-keepers in 59- 

physicians in 59" 

population of 59" 

Changes in jjopulation 173- 

Chaplains to poor house 259- 

CharlestOAvn 206 

Cheesetown 206- 

Chester count}^ erection of T 

Churches, at Falling Spring 189' 

Green Castle 187 

Mercersburg 21$ 

Path Valley 199" 

Rocky Spring 194- 

Welsh Run 196 

Church of God, clergy in 263- 

Church Hill 20& 

Clark, Hon. Matthew St. Clair 180 

Clay Lick 20& 

Clergymen in county 261 

Clftrks of commissioners 250' 

Clerks of the courts 243-4 

Clerks of the poor house 257 

Clocks, matiufacture of 18L 

Colhoun, Dr. John 41 

Colleges and academies 104 

Commissioners of county, list of 49, 248 

Commissioners, jury, list of 260 

Common schools 98 

directors and teachers of 9^ 

superintendents in 99, 261 

Concord 206 

Congressmen, first election of 63 

list of 231 



INDEX. 



28T 



'^ 



PAGE, 

Constitutional Conventions 229 

Coppersmithing l^"* 

Coroners, list of 246 

Councillors, election of 49- 

County, organization of ^"^ 

aviditors 251 

commissioners 49, 248 

coroners 245 

courts 53 

criminal history of lOG 

lieutenants 221 

location and area of 45 

surveyors 259 

treasurers 246 

Court house, first erected 50, 55 

Cove Gap 207 

Crawford, Hon. T. Hartley 178 

Creigh, John 41 

Criminal history of county 106 

Criswell, Capt. Andrew M 169 

Crunkleton town 187 

Culbertson, Capt. Samuel D., company roll 145, 156 

Cumberland county, when organized 8, 17 

Cumberland valley, action of people in 41 

division of 43 

first settlement of ■ 8, 16 

in 1730-60 10 

in the revolution 40-43 

Cumberland Valley railroad 93- 

Delaware, purchase of, by Wm. Penn 6 

Deputy surveyors, list of 259' 

Directors of common schools 99 

Directors of poor, list of 254 

District attorneys, list of 260 

Dixon, Capt. Wm. D 164 

Doebler, Capt. John 163-66 

Douglas, Capt. J. W 169 

Doylesburg 207 

Dry Run 207 

Dunn, Capt. Samuel, company roil 148-51 

Durham Jack, convicted of murder 108 

/Early settlements in county 16 

'^arly taxes in county 17 

Easton , Capt. Hezekiah , 164 

Elder, Capt. James G 163-6 

Election districts, old 49, 91 

Elections, first 49, 91 

Episcopal clergy 263 

Executive Council, Supreme 234 

Eyster, Capt. Charles AV 169 



Ii88 INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Eyster, Capt. George 169 

Eyster, Capt. John S 164 

Fairview 207 

Paniiettsburg 207 

Fannet township, formation of 190 

Fayetteville 208 

Fast freight lines 223 

Fenton, Colonel James, his regiment 150 

Findlayville .'. 208 

Pindlay, Captain John, company roll 154 

elected Colonel 161 

JFindlay, Hon. James 178 

Findlay, Hon. John 177 

Findlay, Governor William 1~5 

First counties in State 7 

First elections in county 49 

First taxes in county 57 

IFirst regiment, Cumberland county 122, 126 

its regimental flag 127 

JFirst township, Cumberland county 16 

Flanagan, Capt. John, company roll 159 

Flax, oil and hemp mills 182 

Fletcher, Capt. Thomas L 169 

Tlood, great, of 1877 279 

Foltz, Capt. C. C 170 

Franklin count}', acreage in 45 

area and location 45 

first election in 49 

geological features 47 

organization of 43 

j:»opulation IS, 90 

soil, topography, &c 45 

Pranklin township, erection of 197 

property in— in 17S6 58 

French and Indian wars of 1744-56 22 

Freight lines, fast 223 

Frontier forts 24 

Fullerton, Hon. David 177 

Fulling cards, manufacture of 183 

Funk, Capt. Charles A 167 

Funkstown 209 

Furnaces 170 

CTermantowu 209 

Glovemaking 183 

Gordon, Capt. Samuel, company roll 152 

Grant to William Peun 6 

Great flood of 1877 279 

Greenawalt, Capt. D. B 165 

Green Castle 44, 209 

Green township, erection of 198 



INDEX. 280 

PAGE. 

Green village • 210- 

Greenwood 210 

Gubernatorial elections ^*^ 

Guilfc^rd township, erection of 18^' 

Hamilton, Judge James , ^-t 

Hamilton township, erection of 189 

Hand, Colonel Edward 122, 1*^4, 121 

Hanna, John, convicted of murder lOT 

Harmony, Capt. John H 1''7 

Harper, Capt. Michael, company roll 149 

Hats, manufacture of 184 

Hays, Capt. Patrick, company roll 148. 

Hopewell township, formation of 17 

House of Representatives, members of 2:5(5; 

Houser, Capt. David 1G9' 

Housum, Colonel Peter B lG3-'t 

Huliinger, Capt. Josiah C 167 

Independence, war for 40, 121-143- 

Indian outrages 29 

Inn-keepers in 1780-88 59' 

Irvine, (,'olonel William, his regiment 129' 

Irwin, Colonel Jared, his regiment 145- 

Jackson Hall 211 

Jail, old ' 50, 52. 

Jeffries, Capt. John 169' 

Johnston, James, Sr 120 

Johnston, John 12L 

Johnston, Colonel James 49,.120' 

Johnston, Colonel Thomas 12L 

Johnston, Dr. Robert 121 

Judges— president and associate 50,.230' 

under Constitution of 1776 56- 

1790 57, 239' 

1838 240 

1873 242. 

Judicial districts 94 

Jury commissioners 260 

Justices in 1786-88 59- 

Justices who were judges ► 56 

Kennedystown 196 

Kurtz, Capt. Luther B 167 

Land in the county 45 

in the State 6 

in Cumberland valley, when purchased 8. 

entry of, in the olden time 192. 

Lancaster county, organization of 8. 

Lancasterian system of schools 103 

Laws in force in 1784-6 , 4S 

Lehman, Capt. Elias K 1C5 -6 

Lenuherville 211 

19 



290 INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Letterkenny township, organization of 191 

Ijiberty poles, erection of 72 

Lieutenants and sub-lieutenants 221 

Lost arts in our county 181 

Loudon 211 

Lurgan township, organization of 188 

Lutheran clergy, list of 261 

Macla}', Hon. John 176 

Maclay, Hon. Samuel 176 

Maclay, Hon. William 176 

Magaw, Colonel Robert 122, 127, 129 

Magaw, Dr. William 127 

Mainsville 211 

Marion 211 

Marion Station 212 

Maryland, grant of 13 

location of H 

Mason and Dixon's line, history of 11 

M'Allen, Capt. R. W 165 

M'Cammont, Major James 49, 56-7, 115, 193 

M'Clay, John 41 

M'Clelland, Hon. Robert 175 

M'Cord's Fort, capture of 25, 32 

M'Calloh, Hon. Thomas G 177 

M'Dowell, Dr. John 13u 

M'Dowell, Capt. James 144 

M'Dowell, Capt. Samuel M 169 

M'Dowell, Capt. Wm. E 166 

M'Ginley, Rev. Amos A 199 

M'Kean, John, convicted of murder 108 

M'Kesson, Capt. Samuel R 164 

M'Knight, Capt. H. W 168 

M'Lene, Hon. James 44, 49, 176, 230-236 

M'Lanahan, Hon. James X 178 

M'Pherson, Hon. Edward 180, 233 

Men of mark in politics 174 

Mennonite clergy, list of 263 

Mercersburg 212 

Mercer, Gen. Hugh 213 

Merchants in 1785-88 59 

Metal township, erection of 199 

Methodist clergy, list of 262 

Mexican war 161 

Middleburg 214 

Miles, Capt. George L - 166 

Military record of county 113 

Militia, lieutenants of 221 

Mill-stones, manufacture of 181 

Minerals in county 170 

Mont Alto 215 



INDEX. 291 

PAGE. 

Montgomery, Capt. James H 169 

Montgomery township, erection of 195 

Mormonism, history of 263 

Mount Hope 215 

Mowersvilie 215 

Murders by Indians 29 

Murders, convictions for 107 

Murtaugh, John, convicted of murder l'^9 

Nails, manufacture of 182 

Newcastle, location of 1^ 

New England, extent of 13 

New Franklin 215 

New Jersey, grant for 1^^ 

Newspapers in Franklin county 64 

Nimmon, Major John S 165 

Oaks, Capt. Andrew — his company 147 

Offices, public, location of old 53 

Oil, manufacture of 1^2 

Old roads 16, 194, 208 

Orrstown 215 

Outrages by the Indians 29 

Paper, manufacture of 9t> 

Patton, Captain Samuel, company roll 142 

Penn, William, grant to 6 

landing of 7 

death of 15 

Pennsylvania, grant for 6, 14 

location and price 6 

Peters township, formation of. 188 

Philadelphia count}', erection of 7 

Phinicie, Capt. Henry C 167 

Physicians in 1786-88 59 

in 1876, list of 268 

to poor house , 258 

Pikesville 216 

Piper, Colonel William — his regiment 145 

Piper, Hon. William A 179 

Poor house, clerks of 257 

directors of 254 

history of. 253 

stewards of 256 

treasurers of. 225 

Population in 1786, and since 73,90 

changes m 173 

in 1870 45 

Post offices, establishment of. 63, 202 

Postal facilities in 1788 62 

Potash, manufacture of 181 

Potter, General J ames 115 

Presbyterian clergy, list of 261 



292 INDEX. 

PAGR. 

President judges 56,239 

Prosecuting attorneys, list of , 260 

Protestant Episcopal clergy, list of 263 

Protiionotaries, list of 242 

Provincial conference of 1776 41. 

nienil)ers from Franklin count3'' 4L 

Pablic buildings and oflices 50,52 

Purviance, Col. John— his regiment 145 

<luincy 216 

*Quincy township, erection of 201 

Kamsige, Josiah, convicted of murder 107 

Rnilroads in our countj'' 93, 172 

Hea, Hon. John 177 

a^eteellion, the war of 104, 163 to 170 

.Reed, Capt. John H 166 

Keforined clergy, list of 262 

Reges, Capt. Henry — his company roll 147 

Registers and recorders, list of 243 

Heilly, Hon. Wilson 178 

I^hea, Capt. Archibald R 166 

Representatives, list of 49, 236 

Richmond 216 

P,ippey, Capt. William — his company roll 133 

Hitchey, Col. John L 168 

Hiver Brethren, clergy of 263 

Heads, old, Fulton county to Baltimore 194 

Harris' Ferry to Potomac 16 

Loudon to Blaclt's Gap 208 

Hobinson, Capt. Andrew— company roll 158 

Robinson, Hon. David 178 

Roman Catholic clergy of . . . , 263 

Rouserville 206 

Route from east to west 28 

Rowe, Lieut. Col. D. W 166 

Howe, Hon. John 179 

Roxbury 217 

■St. Thomas 217 

•St. Thomas township, erection of 200 

;Schools, common, establishment 98 

.Schools, Laneasterian, reference to 103 

.Scotch-Irish, history of 25 

Scotland 217 

•Senators, list of 180, 234 

■.Settlement of Cumberland Valley 16 

iSeventh Day Baptists, clergy of. 265 

Shady Grove ' 218 

Sheriffs, list of 245 

iShimpstown 218 

Shovels and pans, manufacture of 181 

Sickles and scythes, manufacture of 183 



INDEX. 293 

PAGE. 

"Slaverj^, abolition of 109 

sSmitli, Captain Abraham, company roll 130, 31 

Smith, Colonel Abraham, of Antrim 49, 131, 179 

Smith, Colonel Abraham, of Lurgan 131 

Smith, ColonelJames , 113 

Smith, Captain John, snrvey by 13 

Smitli, Hon. Frederick 179 

Smolvetown 218 

■Snider, Col. Jeremiah— his company and regiment 145, 146 

Snow Hill 218 

.Soldiers in the Indian wars 113-143 

in the revolution 113-143 

in the whiskey insurrection 143 

in tlie w^^r of 1812-14 144-161 

in the Mexican war 161-163 

in the rebellion 163 

three months' men. 163 

six months' men 167 

nine months' men 166 

one year's men 168 

three years' men 163, 166 

nine months, drafted , 167 

independent batteries 168 

militia and emergenc3^ men 169 

Southampton township, erection of 197 

Spring Run 218 

Springtown 218 

Stage coaches 93 

■Stake, Capt. Jacob 150 

Steele, Bevevend Captain John 119 

■Stenger, Hon. AVilliam S 178 

Stetzel, Lieut. Col. George , 165 

Stevens, Capt. Alanson J 168 

Stewa rds of the poor house, list of 256 

Stouflerstown 218 

Strasburg 219 

Straw paper, manufacture of 97 

Stum Ijaugh, Colonel Frederick S 163-4 

Sullenberger, Capt. W. H 166 

Superintendents of Common Schools 99-261 

Supreme Court, Southern district 94 

Supreme Executive Council 234 

Surveyors, county 259 

Swedish colony in Delaware • 13 

Tacks, manufacture of 184 

Talbott, Coloiiel Jeremiali 49, 135 

company roll 135-38 

Taxables in 1751-2, list of IS 

in 1786, list of 74 

in 1790, and since 90 



294 INDEX. 

PAGB. 

Taxes, early 17 

in 1785 57 

in 178G 58,74 

Taylor, Capt. K. S 16» 

Teachers in common schools 99 

Thompson, Hon. Alexander 17& 

Thompson, Hon. John 178' 

Thompson, Colonel William 122, 127 

Tomstown 219 

Towns and villages in county 204-221 

Townships, organization of 16, 58, 185- 

Trair, Capt. Michael W 166 

Transportation last century 91 

fast freight .' 223 

Treasurers of poor house 256- 

Troops in whiskey insurrection 73- 

Troxell, Capt. E. S 166. 

Tunkers, clergy of 264 

Turnpikes, list of 92. 

United Brethren, clergy of 262. 

Upton , 2 1J> 

Vance, Capt. David 169 

Wagon lines, fast freight 223. 

Wagonmaking 184 

Wagon whips, manufacture of 185-211 

Walker, Capt. John D 169- 

W^alker, Capt. John H 166 

Walker, Capt. Samuel .' 167 

Walker, Capt. Wm. H 166 

Wallacetown 220 

War of Independence 40' 

Indian 22. 

whiskey 71, 143 

1812-14 ; 144-161 

Mexican 161 

of the rebellion 163-170 

losses in rebellion 104 

Warren township, erection of 200 

Washington, General, visit of 70 

AVashington township, erection of 194 

Water works, history of 96 

Waterloo ~. 220 

Waynesboro 220 

Whiskey insurrection, history of 71, 143 

Williamson 221 

Willow Grove 221 

AVinger, Lieut. Col, B. F 165- 

Young, Capt. William, company roll 154, 16L 



:, , ..v\ 



